


Grasping Liquid

by SamCyberCat



Series: Grasping Liquid [1]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-08-09 13:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 187,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7803907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some dramatic leader leaves his group questioning why he'd abandon them. And amongst them, is a very miserable Badger. A story of the Black Ravens growing up and struggling to accept the changes that come with doing so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Grasping Liquid is my longest running fanfic to date. Currently I have 42 chapters of the main story, as well as four different side-stories connected to it, posted for it elsewhere online. So I decided when bringing it here to go back to the beginning and clean up the earlier chapters, to fix any mistakes that I might have missed the first time around. So far I've done this for Act One (the first nine chapters) of the main story, which I'll be posting now to get the story going here.
> 
> I hope that if you haven't read Grasping Liquid before that you give it a chance, as it's a project that's very dear to my heart. And if you have read it before then I also hope that you enjoy this updated version of the story.

It came as a surprise to everyone when Crow told them that he was leaving.

He'd gathered the other Black Ravens in the auction room one morning. They could tell this wasn't going to be the usual talk about inventory levels or costumes needing to be fixed. Something heavy lay in the atmosphere as they sat there, exchanging nervous glances between themselves.

When the news broke, there was a very vocal outcry.

“I ain't leavin' forevah!” Crow called out, motioning with his hands for them to settle, “Just a few weeks. Maybe a month or two at most. It's not as if we're disbandin', it's just a little break.”

“And how come we only have a break when you decide you wanna leave?” demanded Roddy.

“Ya welcome to keep goin' without me,” Crow coldly informed.

“We could do and all! We've got Wren's brains and Badger's much better at running around in the costume than you are!” Roddy snapped, not backing down.

Marilyn lay a hand on his arm to settle him; “What Roddy means to say is that we aren't Black Ravens without all of us. We wouldn't want to continue without you.”

“Then I'm sorry to 'ave put ya in that position, but I'm still leavin',” concluded Crow, “I'm goin' tomorrow, so there's still a bit o' time for any o' ya to come sort stuff out with me if ya do wanna keep this place runnin' while I'm gone.”

With that he turned and headed through to the back room. Crow always was one for dramatics. And his exit did indeed leave the others talking frantically amongst themselves. What was Crow thinking? Why was he leaving? Where was he going? And why didn't he know when he'd be back?

The only person who didn't say single a word the entire time they were there was Badger. Certainly these thoughts were running through his head, but he didn't want to talk about them with anyone other than Crow. So he sat in one of the seats, staring at the door Crow had gone through until everyone else had eventually left. The last few were ushered out by Marilyn, who had a good instinct for knowing when people needed to talk.

Badger continued to sit there in silence until the door to the stock room cracked open again. It was just like Crow to storm off and act as if he was busy, when in truth he was only waiting until everyone had gone so that he could slink away.

“'ey,” Badger muttered, before he had a chance to retreat back into the other room again.

“Oh, 'ey Badge'. Didn't think anyone was still out 'ere,” Crow replied, stepping out onto the stage now that he knew he'd been caught.

“Got nowhere else t' be now, 'ave I?” he accused.

“Don't be like that,” Crow sighed, walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the stage, opposite where Badger was sat, “I'm not doin' this to 'urt any o' ya. It's just somethin' I need to do.”

“Why do yer need t' do it then?” Badger checked, glaring out from under his mess of hair, “And why couldn't yer 'ave talked t' any of us about it first.”

Why couldn't you have talked to me? That was the question he really wanted to ask.

“Please, I just... really need space right now. I've only ever been in Mist'allery my whole life an' I don't 'ave the space to grow 'ere any more. We've all mastahed these streets, Badge'. But most o' ya 'ave been to other places. I 'aven't. Never once left Mist'allery,” Crow explained, “An' I've been wantin' to go somewhere for a long time, but I didn't wanna cause any bothah for the rest o' ya. So I kept puttin' it off, until I realised that I'd never do it if I didn't do it soon.”

“And yer couldn't tell us this because...?” pressed Badger.

“I didn't want ya to stop me,” Crow confessed.

“Yer great twit,” sighed Badger, as he pulled himself up off the chair and walked over, “We wouldn't 'ave stopped yer, but we might 'ave been able t' 'elp if yer'd told us. Would've avoided that awful fuss back there. But then, yer like making fusses, don't yer?”

Crow didn't meet his eye, but he was smirking down at the ground in response to that.

“It's done now,” he mumbled, “Just gotta get ready for tomorrah, since there's no goin' back.”

“Suppose so...” Badger reluctantly agreed.

He watched with some sadness as Crow, who obviously felt this discussion was concluded, got up and headed away from him, off towards the door. This was really it. He was really leaving and none of them knew when he'd be back. Maybe the others wouldn't stick around once Crow was gone either. They might all find other places they wanted to go to as well. That grim thought set into Badger's head and terrified him.

More than anything, he wanted to go with Crow. Once their leader had set his mind on something it was impossible to change and, if Badger couldn't do that, he wanted to just go with him wherever he was going.

But Badger was not bold or good at expressing himself.

“I'll see ya when I get back?” Crow checked, as he reached the door.

It was a question, not an assumption. That at least proved that Crow had gotten better than what he used to be. Even if it was only slightly better.

“Yeah, I'll... I'll see yer...” replied Badger, trying hard to keep his voice level.

And, with that, Crow was gone. Leaving Badger to sit back in the seat again. Alone in a big room, knees curled up into his chest and cursing his own timidity. He started to cry a little, rocking himself on the seat for comfort. But that was Badger all over, wasn't it? Weak, stupid, gangly, push-over Badger. All these horrible words that he used to describe himself. And they had to be true, because he couldn't even tell Crow that he wanted to be near him. The thought made him worry too much that Crow might think he's some kind of creeper who needed to cling to him at all times.

And maybe Badger was some kind of creeper...

It was maybe half an hour before the tears started to run dry, leaving him with just silent, heaving sobs. The time allowed him to think, mostly bad things about himself, but also a few bad things about Crow. Because Crow could be so horrible that it was hard not to think bad things about him. As much as Badger wanted to hug the stupid little leader, he also wanted to punch him in the face as well.

Perhaps when Crow comes back Badger could punch him.

That notion makes him giggle strangely into his sobbing. His grand highness making a triumphant return, expecting all of his subjects to be cooing over how much they've missed him, and instead what he gets is Badger giving him a good slap across the face. He'd deserve it.

Maybe by that time Badger would have even grown into a more confident Badger who wasn't afraid to tell Crow not to do stupid stuff. And could also tell Crow that he... well, liked him...

Every time Badger tried to imagine confessing something like that to Crow, his mouth filled up with bile. But not the new, improved Badger. No, the new Badger would just swallow it back and keep his head held high. He wouldn't even care if Crow thought he was a proper weirdo and didn't want anything to... to do with him after that...

...Okay, so probably even the new Badger would get upset by that.

Pulling himself up off the chair, Badger wiped his face clean of the old Badger's lingering tears. Wow, he was actually referring to himself as 'the old Badger' now. Maybe that meant he was serious about changing. Or maybe not. Who knew?

All he did know was that, one way or the other, he'd be waiting for Crow when he got back. Because that's just what loyal Badgers did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crow comes back to find a massive problem thrown at him. And, as the leader of the Black Ravens, it's his duty to deal with the impossible problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original notes for this chapter I made a joke about how this might end up becoming an on-going Black Ravens fic that I'd never complete. If only I knew.

It was two months until Crow came swanning back to Misthallery. Two months exactly, because Badger had been counting each and every day since he left. Maybe Badger didn't have a lot of skills, but counting is something that he knows he's good at.

And, in his arrogance, Crow obviously expected that everything would be the same. That while he was off doing his soul-searching to discover... whatever it was that he needed to discover, that everyone in Misthallery would sit around and wait for him to get back.

That hadn't been the case.

What also hadn't been the case, however, was bold, confident, new Badger being there for the return. The lanky lad reckoned that he had grown a little in Crow's absence, but he still couldn't slap Crow in the face when he waltzed back into the market. As much as he wanted to. Really, really wanted to.

Crow had a slight air of wonder about him as he approached, the sort that someone might have when coming back to a place where they used to live after being away from it for a long time. He had a bag on his back and his head was so up in the sky that he barely noticed how empty the streets were. Not that they were ever busy at this time in the morning, but there was a certain absence that he should have picked up on.

He reached where Badger was hovering and smiled warmly. It was not returned. As much as Badger's instincts just wanted to smile at Crow, he couldn't. Their leader didn't deserve smiles right now.

“'ey, Badge'! 'ow's everythin' bin?” Crow started, clearly still stuck in the euphoric glow of his trip.

“Quiet,” Badger pointedly replied.

“I can see that,” observed Crow, looking around, “So where is everyone?”

“Most of them are still in bed. 'Cept for Marilyn, who needs to run 'er stall, and Scraps, since 'e's always up at the crack of dawn t' look fer stuff in the junk,” informed Badger. He wondered how long it'd be until the penny dropped.

Crow nodded; “An' I wouldn't expect Louis to be out 'is pit at this hour. It's a wondah we get 'im up to do any work at all. But what about Wren an' Socket? They're usually about by now.”

“They're not 'ere,” seethed Badger.

“I can see that, but where are they?”

“They're. Not. 'ere.”

Crow's eyes grew wide as realisation dawned on him.

“As in... not in Mist'allery?” he checked, not wanting to know the answer.

Badger felt himself slump under the weight of having to hold it in for so long; “No. They're gone. Their mam found a job somewhere else, while yer were flirting with... with whereveh it was yer went, and they 'ad t' leave. The dog and all.”

“But... they can't! They can't just 'ave disappeared like that! W-wot about... the Black Ravens...?” Crow gaped, staring up at him through pleading eyes.

“We asked yer that same question when yer left and yer said it were just something yer 'ad t' do,” reminded Badger, “They 'ad to do this too.”

“But... I didn't even get to say goodbye...” mumbled Crow.

His tone was pathetic enough to finally make Badger snap; “Say goodbye? Yer couldeh stopped them! If yer 'ad been 'ere yer couldeh worked yer stupid Crow magic and some'ow made it so they didn't 'ave t' go! It's all your fault they're gone!”

“Badge', I ain't some kinda mystical magician,” Crow reasoned, “If their mum needed t-”

“Shut up! Just shut up! Yer bloodeh well could fix it! Just like yer fix everything! But yer didn't, 'cause yer weren't 'ere and yer didn't care!” screamed Badger. It was loud enough to threaten waking up those who lived in the houses nearby, but that was the last thing on Badger's mind right now.

After this outburst, Crow went silent. He focused himself, giving Badger time to breathe. Clearly the taller boy was working himself up to counter whatever Crow might say next, but that's not what Crow wanted to do. He didn't want to argue with any of his friends. What he wanted to do was... make things right again.

“So we'll find 'em,” he concluded, after the pause.

“We can't just- ...what? Are yer fer real?” checked Badger. He'd been prepared for a fight, but Crow's reply had left him utterly confused.

“It can't be that 'ard,” assured Crow, feeling his confidence grow now that it had direction, “They must o' told some people where they were goin', right? Maybe they even told you.”

“I... I could find out. But look, Crow, we can't just 'ead after them. They're bloodeh miles away! What do we even do when we get there? Just knock on the door and say 'Oi, can we 'ave our friends back'? Be smart about this, birdie,” Badger argued.

“Let me worry about that,” Crow dismissed, “All I want ya to do is find everyone, find out what they know about where Wren an' Socket are, an' ask 'em if they wanna come with me.”

“Right,” Badger replied, loyally snapping to attention. Even after two months, he couldn't bring himself to not listen to Crow's orders. He hated himself for it, because all the time Crow was gone he'd been trying to believe that he could break free from that grasp. But when it came down to it, he was still the same old Badger who jumped the longest jump he could manage just because Crow wanted him to.

“Ya, well, ya don't 'afta come if ya don't want to,” Crow added, “I know ya pretty angry with me.”

“I'm coming,” growled Badger.

“Ya sure?”

“Yeah. Now if yer would excuse me, I've got people t' find,” he concluded, pushing past Crow. Him, Badger, actually pushed past Crow.

There was a chuckle from the small leader. It was enough to make Badger reconsider not hitting him. Here Badger was, being as tough as he could and holding onto the anger that Crow deserved to be faced with, and he found it funny.

“Won't keep ya,” Crow hummed.

“Good. Yer... yer betteh not. But... um, they're probableh realleh far away and yer... 'ow t' say it? Yer've always been a bit of a 'ome bird,” reminded Badger.

The strange chuckle increased in volume. Badger hated it when Crow did that. The slightest thing could set him off into his twisted laughter and there was no stopping him once it started. The noise wasn't infectious, Badger himself had no desire to laugh, but it was toxic. Just hearing it made Badger's insides want to knot up in a way that he couldn't explain.

“I used to be, but not any more. It would surprise ya 'ow much I've changed,” informed Crow. Badger might not have been able to see his face, but he could picture the grin.

Great. Just fantastic. Badger spent two months trying to become a new person and failed completely. While Crow, on the other hand, skipped away on some unexplained little journey (which had admittedly also taken two months, but that wasn't the point) and came back a stronger person who was ready to face the world. Being secluded to his limited life in Misthallery had always been Crow's one weakness that Badger was aware of. The one thing that the others had over him was that many of them had travelled around before, but Crow had never left his home town. But not now, apparently. Maybe Badger didn't yet know where Crow had been and what he'd been doing, but it was clear that he'd seen a lot and grown as a person because of it.

It seemed that every conversation they had was going to end with Badger hating Crow a little more, wasn't it? As much as that was balanced out by him also... g-growing fonder of him at the same time...

No. Now was not the time to think about that.

“Yer still look like the same little birdie t' me,” Badger huffed.

Then he dashed off, determined to have the last word. Not that he even managed that, as Crow's laughter echoed behind him. Stupid Crow and his being so perfect at everything.

Stupid Crow who's going to find Wren and Socket, so they can get the Black Ravens back to how they should be. Yeah, that was it. Crow would fix it all. Because there wasn't a single problem that their leader couldn't solve. Badger knew that to be true...

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brave leader attempts to rally his troops, so they can reclaim what's been taken from them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For American readers, the character called Roddy is called Nabby in the US version of the game, and the character called Gus is called Tweeds. Also, for this fic Louis is a Liverpudlian, but sadly I know that I'd fail at writing his scouse accent even worse than I do with Crow and Badger's accents. So just picture glorious scouse when he talks.

It was around midday by the time Badger had managed to gather everyone in the market to wait for Crow. They all stood around Marilyn's stall, because she argued that her family couldn't afford for her to shut up shop at the drop of a hat, so they would have to have their meeting where she could carry on with her work. And Badger quite agreed with her on that. Not that the stall was likely to get too much business with a bunch of moody teenagers skulking around it, but you never knew.

As well as Marilyn, there was also Scraps, Gus, Roddy and Louis, who was looking rather groggy for having been called out of bed on a day where they hadn't planned to do work. So that was all the rest of the Black Ravens, sans Wren & Socket, for obvious reasons, and Crow, who hadn't yet arrived, much to Badger's annoyance. 

He supposed that Tony, their honorary member, also wasn't there and Badger felt a slight pang of guilt for leaving him out. But, as much as they all liked Tony, the idea of being a Black Raven was more of a game to him and his coming down to join in with them had sort of fizzled out as he'd gotten older. Perhaps they did take this all too seriously, but there was a silent agreement amongst the group that this was strictly Black Raven business and it was probably best not to get Tony involved.

So the motley crew waited for their leader to join them, mumbling amongst themselves. Badger supposed they'd all have a lot to say to Crow, so chances were that he'd keep as quiet as he usually did during group discussions. As much as he wanted to be confident Badger, who put his opinion forward, the idea of speaking in front of everyone when they were all serious like this just made him too nervous. At least he got to speak with Crow beforehand, so he could make it clear that he wasn't happy.

Or at least, he'd assumed that he'd made it clear. When Crow finally did join them, he sauntered over as calmly as anything, as if their talk earlier hadn't phased him at all. Water off a duck's back, Badger supposed, glumly.

And sure enough, the others erupted into a sudden bout of questions and only stopped when Crow motioned for silence. How he has that kind of presence over them all Badger would never know, but he certainly was good at getting people to shut up and listen to him.

“I know all o' ya are confused an' wanna know wot's goin' on, but we need to get this sorted first,” Crow began, “'Cause I've been told that Wren an' Socket 'ave disappeared an' I ain't 'appy about that.”

“Disappeared is kind of an exaggeration. They just moved away,” Marilyn pointed out, as she rested on the counter of her stall.

“Yeah, but they're still Black Ravens an' we can't carry on without 'em,” Crow insisted.

“Where was that logic when you left?” prompted Roddy. He was glaring so harshly that Badger thought he might be the only person here who was angrier with Crow than he was. It worried him that a fight might break out. Crow and Roddy were known to be best friends, but they didn't half argue most of the time...

“I was always comin' back though,” retorted Crow.

Marilyn spoke up, not wanting this to get out of hand; “All right, we all know that Wren and Socket are gone. And we do feel bad about it, Crow, believe me. But what can we do about it now?”

Crow's eyes lit up. They had that dangerous glint about them that Badger had come to recognise as meaning he was about to suggest something that would be both absurd and possibly genius. Although in this case Badger already knew was that suggestion was, it would be news to the rest of them.

“We're goin' after 'em,” he answered.

“We can't do that!” Scraps gasped.

“Why not? We know where we're goin', right?” Crow prompted.

“They moved to... to a small village in Northumberland,” Louis yawned, “We could probably find where they live easily enough, but it's not like we can just waltz on up there, is it?”

“That's exactly wot I intend to do. An' I brought ya 'ere to ask who's comin' with me,” Crow replied. He smiled around at them all.

“I will!”

The group turned in surprise to look at Gus, the portly lad who right now looked to be a picture of determination. Even Badger was a little shocked to hear him put his name forward so quickly, since while he was eager, Gus usually wasn't first in line for anything.

“Are... are ya sure?” Crow checked. It seemed that he was a little hesitant to drag Gus out on such a trip.

“Of course I am! Finding our friends is the right thing to do, right?” insisted Gus. Though it wasn't Crow he was looking at now, but Marilyn. 

Ah, that was it. Ever since they were kids, Gus has always had this massive crush on Marilyn. He must have been doing this in some misguided attempt to impress her. Badger sympathised a lot. If he wasn't keeping quiet about his... well, his own doomed attraction to a certain someone who probably wasn't interested, then him and Gus would probably have a lot to talk about in that regard.

Marilyn smiled warmly and said, “That's very noble of you, Gus. I'm sure that the two of them will be glad to see you again.”

“A-aren't you coming...?” checked Gus, his nerves slipping now that doubt had settled in.

“Of course not. As much as I'd love to, there's no way that I could leave my family's stall for so long. My family all needs to work together to get by, I'm afraid,” Marilyn answered, “But Louis's going, aren't you, Louis?”

“I am?” asked Louis, snapping to attention now that his name had been brought up.

“Of course you are. You're going to keep an eye on Gus, aren't you?” reminded Marilyn. Her tone seemed as cheerful as usual on the surface, but underneath it was the slight hint of threat that only those who knew her very well would pick up on. And Louis knew her almost better than anyone.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Louis haplessly concluded.

“Right, so that's three o' ya, includin' Badge', who told me 'e'd come earliah,” Crow counted, “Anyone else?”

All eyes turned to Scraps and Roddy, though Scraps was the one to speak up first. He shrugged, shaking his head with an air of indifference.

“Who'd keep our stock levels up while you're away if I left?” he pointed out, “It's been hard enough managing all the inventory on my own while you've been away. I'm a finding stuff guy, not a writing stuff down guy. And if I did come and some other kids stole all the good stuff from the junk then I'd never live it down. The treasure that could make us rich might crop up at any time.”

“I can see I won't be able to talk ya outta it,” sighed Crow, knowing that Scraps always stood by his word. So he directed his gaze instead to Roddy, “How about you, Rod?”

“You're a real piece of work,” Roddy growled. Then he suddenly stormed off away from the group and down the street.

“Roddy, wait...” Crow called, heading off after him.

“Guess that means the meeting's over,” hummed Louis, as they watched the two of them disappear, “I better go pack my bags then.”

That seemed to act as a signal for the gathering to disperse, with Scraps not needing to be told twice before he headed back towards his usual post. Scraps was a good friend to all of them, but he did like to keep himself busy as much as possible, to the point that sometimes be came across as dismissive. Badger reckoned it might be his way of dealing with problems and there were certainly a fair few of those to mull over right now.

Marilyn in turn seemed to have been distracted by old Thomas, who'd turned up to buy some vegetables. Out of the corner of his eye, Badger saw her motion to Gus and Louis to stay put. No doubt she wanted to have words with her brood as soon as she got a moment.

Which left Badger. Not that being left out was something he wasn't used to... 

No, don't think about that. Those were awful, old Badger thoughts. New Badger knew that sometimes his friends needed to deal with things without him and other times they did need him there. But if they ever needed to be without him, that didn't instantly mean they hated him or had forgotten about him. Yeah, hold onto that thought, he mused.

And new Badger was brave enough to go after Crow and Roddy, right? Maybe they really would break out into a fight and it would be down to Badger to stop them from beating each other silly.

That was all the motivation he needed to quietly head off after them, following the tracks that he assumed they'd headed down. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he could hear their voices outside of one of the boarded-up houses. That was when Badger's nerves broke down. They sounded angry and he didn't think he could deal with that without becoming a stuttering mess. Maybe he could just stay here and listen out, so that if it sounded like things were getting worse then he could jump in to help at the last minute...

“And you never even think! You just put me on the spot like that!” snapped Roddy, making Badger cringe.

“Don't know wot ya talkin' about,” Crow snappishly dismissed, “I told everyone equal an' everyone spoke up when they were ready. It's not my fault ya went last. Usually ya first to open ya mouth.”

“If you don't beat me to it,” grumbled Roddy, “But that's not what I meant. Ugh, you're such a pigeon-headed brat that you'd never get it.”

“Then why don't ya tell me wot I don't get?” Crow offered.

“What a pain... All right, Mr. Leader, try this on – you stride back in here with your big ideas, expecting everyone to go with you just because you say so. But you never stop to think that the rest of us might have lives. Sure, you all understand when Marilyn says she needs to run the stall or Scraps says he needs to pick up your slack, but what about me, eh? Stubborn, grumpy Roddy. I bet if Roddy says he doesn't want to go, it's just because he doesn't care and not because his mum would never manage without him. You'd just tell me to stop being so selfish,” Roddy explained.

“Rod...” Crow's voice was a whisper now, Badger had to really press in as close as he could to hear, “I'm sorry, I didn't think...”

“Of course you didn't think! You never do think about me. It's always me having to run around after you, like the pain you are,” muttered Roddy.

“That ain't true. If ya 'ad talked to me then I would've got it. I get it right now, even,” Crow reasoned.

“What I'm trying to say is that you never gave me the chance to talk to you about it. You just gathered us all together as if I'm just another one of your numbers,” Roddy countered.

There was a brief silence, which was followed by Crow confessing something that Badger never thought he'd hear from him; “I was wrong, ya right. It would've bin bettah to talk to ya first. I got so caught up with the idea of 'elpin' Wren an' Socket that I wasn't thinkin' propah. 'Cause the idea o' us all breakin' apart scares me so much, Rod...”

“You can't keep us here forever,” Roddy stated, “We all want to be Black Ravens as long as we can, but sometimes life just doesn't let things go like you plan. It's difficult like that.”

“But Wren an' Socket were nevah given the chance to choose,” insisted Crow.

“Fine, go after them. Find out what they want and do whatever it is you can about that. Just... don't get too worked up if things don't go your way,” Roddy replied. He sounded much softer than Badger had ever heard him be towards anyone before. Maybe this was why they were best friends.

“I'll try not to,” Crow promised, “An' Rod...?”

“Yeah?”

“Look after Mist'allery while I'm gone, all right?”

“Ugh. You really are such a pain and a bother and everything else.”

“Thanks, Rod.”

With that, it sounded like footsteps were disappearing away from where Badger was stood. He let out a deep breath and walked out from where he was hiding – right into Roddy.

“Ouf! Watch where you're goin- ...Oh, Badger,” sighed Roddy, “Did you have fun eavesdropping on us?”

“I-I-I didn't do it on purpose!” Badger quickly assured. Glancing over Roddy's shoulder, he saw Crow disappear down the other end of the street, clearly unaware that anyone had been listening.

“Yeah, well, whatever. I don't care that much. But if you were listening then I guess you know what an impulsive idiot our leader is, eh?” sighed Roddy. He seemed a bit put out that he'd been caught getting emotional, even if he was claiming not to be.

“Kindeh knew that already...” mumbled Badger, looking down at the floor.

“Yeah, well that makes three of us – you, me and Marilyn,” clarified Roddy, “And two of us aren't going on this goose chase. So it's down to you to stop him from getting too reckless.”

“If Crow wants t' do summit then I doun't think I could stop 'im,” Badger quietly objected, “'e won't listen to me.”

“Then make him listen. He can be a pain, but he cares about what we think. Deep down, under all the layers of arrogance,” Roddy insisted, “If you don't, then if he does something stupid and the others get hurt, if he gets hurt, it'll be on your head.”

“...O-o-okay... I'll d-do my best...”

Badger was blinking back tears now. Seeming to get that this was the case, Roddy shuffled past him, ready to make his way down the street.

“You'll do fine, Badger. You're the next closest person to him after me and I can tell you're finally starting to see past his act,” Roddy assured him, “Now go get packed – his highness might decide he wants to leave at any time.”

A sniff and a silent nod. Badger couldn't bring himself to speak right now, but fortunately Roddy didn't wait for him to, disappearing back to wherever he needed to be. Maybe he didn't need to be anywhere and he just wanted to avoid everyone. That's certainly something Badger couldn't blame him for.

But Badger just... couldn't do it. He couldn't be what Roddy was to Crow. He couldn't even be the confident new Badger, so how could he ever look after Crow or talk to him like Roddy did? Sure, Badger might have his angry outbursts, but he couldn't make Crow listen the way Roddy seemed to. And, for all he might find Crow annoying, there is still a big part of him taken in by the act, enchanted by Crow, even. What if he didn't recognise Crow was making a mistake until it was too late...?

With so many troubles hanging over his head, Badger began to head back home. Because home was another big problem he needed to face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badger returns home to get ready for their journey, with a lot on his mind and little to ease his worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The character of Badger's dad is a homage to Spectrumv's version of him. Thanks for letting me run wild with your OC, Holly.

The afternoon was settling into a dusky glow by the time Badger reached his house. It wouldn't be long before it started to get dark and Badger hoped that he could have everything sorted out by then. Not that he had that clear of an idea what everything even was or how to go about sorting it out.

When he got to the front door, he peered around the street. For some reason he always felt that he needed to check about when he got home, despite that no one would have any reason to follow him. But the old cobbled lane was free from any onlookers, so he quietly pushed open the door and made his way inside.

As soon as it clicked shut behind him, Badger felt as if he had stepped into another world. His house was an unfriendly place to him and not somewhere he ever wanted to be if he could avoid it. Which was why he spent as much time down at the market as he did. The market was full of friends and bright skies, not the stifling gloom that hung about the tiny rooms here.

Without really meaning to, Badger held his breath and tip-toed through the hall, knowing from experience where to avoid the creaky floorboards. As he past by the living room door he peered inside, checking to see if his dad was home.

Sure enough, the old man was splayed out across the sofa, snoring loudly into the hazy air. On the windowsill a radio was humming, the words too difficult for Badger to make out through the fuzzy crackles. But he didn't mind – the sound would act as a cushion if he made any noise upstairs that might risk waking his dad.

So he made his way up to his room, letting out a sigh as he got through the door. It was chillier in here than the rest of the house, since Badger had left the window open this morning, but Badger wasn't one to be too bothered by the cold. Least of all when he had so many other things on his mind.

Now let's see, what had he even come here for...?

Faced with the place he'd been trying to get to since finishing his talk with Roddy earlier, Badger's mind suddenly drew a blank about what he needed. A change of clothes would be a good idea, but Badger wasn't sure how long Crow's little trip was going to last for. All the same, he grabbed his rucksack and started to stuff in a few jumpers and jeans from his drawers, along with other clothes he thought he might need. Best to just pack for a few days, otherwise the bag would be too heavy. If they stayed longer than that, Badger could always find somewhere to wash his stuff or else just get a bit scruffy. He doubted that Crow and the others would be too bothered if he did. They could all be a bit scruffy at times.

Might be a good idea to grab food as well. The others would probably be bringing some of their own, but Badger had very specific tastes. Most foods didn't agree with him and he was happiest with plain fruit and vegetables. Which meant paying a visit to the cupboards downstairs...

He peered around the room, just in case anything else caught his eye. But there wasn't very much here that he could take. Badger had never cared much for material possessions. He'd come to Misthallery with little of his own and what he'd found there had been friends, not objects. As long as he could have his friends, nothing he could own mattered to him.

Maybe Crow felt the same way and that was why he was going to such lengths to get Wren and Socket back.

One thing he did take was his photo of his mam from his bedside table. Because he couldn't stand the thought of what dad might do with it if Badger didn't come back. Maybe he'd just throw it away. Mam didn't deserve to be thrown away...

Badger clutched the photo to his chest for a moment, before packing it into the bag. Best go get that food now, so he could head off without incident.

Getting back down the stairs was harder with a heavy bag, so Badger left it by the front door when he'd reached the bottom. It wouldn't do to make a lot of noise in the kitchen - the little room was so cluttered that he was bound to knock something over if he took the bag through with him.

Thankfully, he wasn't planning to take much. Fruit didn't keep fresh for very long and he wouldn't want to leave his dad without anything, given that Badger knew he would put off shopping until it was unavoidable. Sometimes Badger worried that he'd make himself sick.

As he hunted through the cupboards, that thought lingered in his mind. These days it was mostly down to Badger to make sure his dad got a decent meal. Or a wash. Or any other basic requirements. Without Badger around, maybe his dad wouldn't cope...

If Roddy needed to stay in Misthallery to look after his mam, then should Badger have said he needed to stay to look after his dad?

...But then who would stop Crow from getting himself hurt?

No, it was too late for second-thoughts. He'd already decided he was going and that was final. It wasn't as if his dad was incapable of caring for himself and without Badger there to do it for him he might pick himself back up. It was a naïvely optimistic idea, but it was all the comfort Badger could offer himself on the matter.

Arms stuffed full of the food he assumed would keep the longest, Badger made his way back into the hall. He was shoving it into the top of his rucksack when a particularly loud snort came from the living room. Badger froze, silently begging that his dad would go back to sleep.

“Si...? Is that you?”

No such luck. It seemed that he'd woken himself up with his own snoring.

Badger didn't have to reply. He could've waited until his dad had gone back to sleep, then slipped out of the door and not be back until who knew when. Maybe he'd never come back. The whole trip had developed such a sense of foreboding at this point that Badger wouldn't be surprised. And heck, his dad probably wouldn't miss him either. Sometimes Badger didn't tell him when he was going to sleepovers and his dad wouldn't even notice until he got back.

It would be sensible not to reply.

“Y-yeah, dad?”

The words came out of his traitorous mouth before he even had the chance to stop them.

“Stop makin' all that racket, I can 'ardly sleep in 'ere.”

That could have been it. He could have just replied saying that he'd keep quiet and that would be that. But somehow that didn't feel right to Badger.

“Dad, I'm... g-gan out fer a-a while.”

Another snore-like grunt, followed by, “All right then?”

His dad was probably just as surprised that Badger was telling him this as Badger was that he was saying it at all. Usually Badger just disappeared without a word and came back the next day. Part of him wanted his dad to think that was all he was doing, so he wouldn't try to stop him. But quietly he wondered if the man would even notice anything was amiss.

“S-see yer when I get back,” Badger concluded, picking up the rucksack before his nerves broke.

“Si?”

“Y-yeah?”

There was an awkward pause. Neither of them knew what to say to the other and they both suspected something was up. Eventually, Badger's dad seemed to resign to the fact that he just didn't know what to say about this.

“Shut the door on yer way out. Wouldn't want t' let in a draft.”

“Will do,” promised Badger, “Um, bye Dad...”

“Bye, Simon.”

His dad didn't use his full name very often these days. He must know that something was out of place and this wouldn't be the usual sleepover at a friend's house. But he was also permitting Badger to go and Badger shouldn't waste an opportunity like that.

He hurried out of the door, quietly closing it behind him, like his dad had asked. Then without really knowing what he was doing, his legs seemed to move on their own away from the house and down the street.

Crow hadn't arranged a time or place for them to meet, but Badger knew that they'd have to go to the train station in the next town if they wanted to head up to Northumberland. Misthallery didn't have a train station of its own, since the hilly layout of the town made it unsuitable for most transport, but there was another town not too far away that had one. It was a common walk for kids who wanted to travel away for a while and one that Badger himself had taken a few times without even thinking about it.

Of course, he could have gone to stay with one of the others for the night, but somehow that didn't feel right. Because then he'd have to explain why he'd left his own house in such a hurry and Badger wasn't even sure that he could explain that to himself.

It'd be a good idea to at least let someone know he was gone though, lest they hang around waiting for him tomorrow. Or worse, go to Badger's house looking for him. So Badger made a detour through the market itself, since he knew Louis would be lurking there.

Sure enough, the lanky lad was loitering around the closed stalls, with his usual air of trying to avoid work. From the looks of it, Marilyn had long since finished her talk with Louis & Gus and headed home, so helping her pack up her parent's stall was one less job for Louis to avoid doing. And, as much as he liked Marilyn, Badger was glad of the prospect of less people to have to explain himself to.

“All right, Badger? What are you doing about at this time?” Louis called, as Badger drew closer.

“Just thought... I'd, well, 'ead out t' the station earleh,” Badger replied. And before Louis could ask any questions he continued, “Could yer tell Crowlo? So 'e's not looking fer me tomorreh. None of yer 'ave t' rush down, like, but I'll be waiting there wheneveh yer readeh.”

If Louis thought this was at all strange then he didn't let on and simply gave Badger a small nod; “I'll let him know. Chances are he'll wanna be off sharp and all, so we'll probably be joining you soon enough.”

“I'll keep yer seats warm then. See yer, Louis,” concluded Badger, as he started to make his way down the road again.

“Yeah, see you later,” Louis called, sounding a little concerned. Badger couldn't blame him.

Word didn't stay with Louis for long, as he was a renowned gossip and would be bound to tell the others before long. It wouldn't surprise Badger if Crow, Gus and Louis ended up joining him on his walk soon enough. Part of him hoped that would be the case.

But by the time he'd reached the station without any sight of them, he'd decided that a quiet walk on his own had been for the best. Soon enough he'd have lots of time to talk with his friends, but not much time to reflect on things by himself. And there certainly was a lot to think about right now. Not that Badger had come up with any answers to any of these problems, but he was a champion at worrying about stuff.

The station itself was eerily silent at this time, as most of the evening trains had already been and gone. Although Badger couldn't read it, the arrival board showed only a few more lines of presumably upcoming trains and those would probably be filled with hapless commuters. So Badger resigned to take a seat near the entrance, where it would be easy to keep an eye out for the others. He plonked his rucksack down next to him, curled his spindly legs up into his chest and stared out onto the road.

Tomorrow was going to be the start of something, though Badger wasn't sure what it was yet. He knew that it'd be a long journey on the train, as Northumberland was even further up the country than Badger himself had come from. He wasn't sure why Wren and Socket's mam had decided to move there, but maybe they'd find out when they visited. Hopefully they wouldn't be too bothered by a surprise visit, but nothing could stop Crow once he'd set his mind to something...

Speaking of Crow, Badger had been trying hard to keep the leader out of his mind as he'd been getting ready this afternoon, but now that he had so much time it was hard not to think of him. As was Crow's way, he'd come back home like a whirlwind and shaken everything up. Though he'd revealed very little about his own journey beyond that he believed it had made him stronger as a person. Badger still had no idea where he'd gone, what he'd done or who he'd met. And he probably wouldn't find any of those things out until Crow saw fit to tell him. Maybe that was for the best, but the curiosity still burned a hole into Badger's chest.

It would be better to focus on their new adventure, which Badger was going to be part of. Not that he's sure how much of an “adventure” this was going to be. But it involved going to new places and having no idea how any of it was going to turn out, so it was already more of an adventure than standing around the market looking out for tourists was.

His mind was an uncomfortable mix of fretting and failed attempts to reassure himself, not helped by the strange glances he got from travellers once the late night trains did start coming in. Thankfully, none of the station's workers asked him to leave, so Badger stayed huddled up on his seat and looked out for the familiar faces of his friends.

It would have been good to keep watch all night and, given how bad Badger's sleeping habits were, on most nights he'd have been able to manage this. But it seemed that tonight, all of the stress and worry had worn him out. So, without meaning to, Badger drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group leave Misthallery and make their way to a tiny village up north, where they hope to find Wren & Socket.

“...Badge'? Oi, wake up, Badge'!”

With a nervous jolt, Badger's eyes shot open. They were faced with Crow staring down at him. The leader's usual heavy-lidded eyes gave him an expression of curious indifference.

A wave of embarrassment surged through Badger. He'd clearly nodded off for far too long. The morning sun was already shining through the station and people were shoving by on their way to work. He had no idea how much time had past since he'd fallen asleep, but Crow and Gus had been there for a while, from the looks of it. There were no signs of Louis, however.

“M-must've nodded off...!” Badger whimpered, sitting up straight.

“It's all right, we 'aven't bin 'ere that long ourselves,” assured Crow, “Louis's just gone to pick up the tickets now.”

“Can we... um, afford tickets?” asked Badger.

How could he have not thought about tickets? Did he expect that they'd be able to just waltz on a train and be whisked away to Northumberland out of the goodness of some train driver's heart?

He looked down at his rucksack, amazed that it hadn't been taken by some opportunist thief during the night. Though one good look at Badger would be enough to suggest that there's nothing in the bag worth taking.

“Yeah, we got the money outta our rainy day pot. Bin savin' it for an emergency. An' wot's more o' an emergency than losin' two Black Ravens?” Crow answered.

“Lucky we had enough to cover the four of us,” Gus chimed in. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to their conversation otherwise. This was far more of an adventure for someone as sheltered as Gus than for any of the rest of them, even the previously untravelled Crow, so the prospect left him eagerly staring around the station. Badger wished that he could share some of that enthusiasm.

Crow nodded; “If it 'ad just bin me I'd 'ave tried to get on without payin', but there's no way we could sneak all o' us on a train without bein' noticed.”

Once again, Badger's mind drifted off to Crow's unspoken trip away. Maybe he'd travelled all over Britain, simply by hitch-hiking and hiding from ticket checkers. It wouldn't surprise Badger, given how crafty Crow could be.

Not that there was much time to get lost in that thought, as Louis was walking back over with tickets in hand. He smiled warmly at the sight of Badger.

“I see that sleeping beauty is awake. Good thing as well, since we've not got long before the train gets here,” he hummed.

“Everyone got everythin'?” checked Crow, glancing around the group like a mother hen, “We might not be comin' back for a while once we get on the train, so anythin' ya need ya wanna be sure ya don't leave without.”

There was a chorus of affirmative murmurs from the others. In that moment, Badger couldn't help but worry if he really had got everything he needed. Clothes, food, a photo of his mam – was there anything else?

This also doubled as the last chance he had to back out of the whole ordeal. His mind flashed back to his unsuspecting dad – sat at home, assuming Badger was just away at yet another sleepover. It might be days before he even realised there was more to Badger heading off than that. And in that time, who knows what might happen to him...

...But then Badger looked at Crow, the cheeky lad with the confident, driven face, and knew that he had to go with him. There was no stopping Crow once he set his mind to something and both of the people who'd usually try to protect him from himself weren't here. It was down to Badger to do that, should it come to it. He'd promised Roddy.

And on top off everything else, Badger did want to believe that Crow could bring Wren and Socket back. He'd never let them down before. Except for when he left...

It seemed that the others had already started making their way to the platform while he'd been lost in his thoughts, so Badger darted after them. He stopped by Gus, as the four of them eagerly looked down the tracks.

“Sounds like it's getting close,” Gus chimed.

The train rolled into the station and just like that the whole platform was a filled with a wave of furious rush. There were tired-looking passengers trying to get off the train, impatient people pushing their way on and a few irate station guards attempting to guide them all about. In the commotion, Crow slipped through the nearest door and the others followed him. Neither Badger nor Gus were very good at shoving past the commuters, but they managed as best they could in light of not having a choice.

Everything that happened over the few minutes until the train pulled away felt like a dull ringing in Badger's ears. He was nervous and uncomfortable, but once they were on the move the finality of not being able to go back seemed to comfort him. They even managed to find some seats around a table for all four of them, which was more than Badger had been expecting them to get.

Gus had been a bit shaken getting onto the train and wasn't as good at hiding his nerves as Badger was. But now they were all sat down he seemed to have recovered, looking out the window at the yellow fields flying past.

“Off we go up North then,” said Louis, clearly trying to get a conversation going.

“It'll be nice to see where you an' Badge' come from. I've nevah been this far up the country,” commented Crow. If nothing else, it confirmed to Badger that Crow's little adventure hadn't been as far afield as he'd been assuming it had.

“We're going much further than Liverpool or Manchester,” Louis corrected, “Where we're going is just outside of Scotland, pretty much.”

“We do 'ave the exact address, don't we?” asked Crow, “Northumberland is probably a big place.”

“They live in a small village called Chillingham. There's not a train station near there, so we'll have to do a lot of walking when we get off the train,” Gus informed. He was unfolding a piece of paper with all the details scribbled onto it. Seemed he'd been better prepared than any of them were expecting.

Crow scoffed, “A bit o' walkin' nevah did us any 'arm, eh?”

By the time they get there, they'd probably be eager to stretch their legs, Badger assumed. At the moment they were all cheerfully optimistic, but a few hours on a train with nothing much to do was bound to get to them. Especially when Crow started getting fussy about rationing the food. He reasoned that they didn't know how long they'd be there for, so there was no point in guzzling it all down at once. Much to Louis and Gus's dismay. Badger wasn't too bothered though – he was still too unsettled to find much benefit in eating.

They got a few odd looks from people heading past. But then again, Badger assumed a group of scruffy kids travelling alone on a train might seem unusual. When their tickets were checked, he got the impression that the man was a little disappointed they had paid their fare like everyone else, since he probably expected them to have sneaked on board without proper tickets. As if they'd be sat here as bold as brass if they had done that.

Badger looked across at Crow. He'd probably have sat there as bold as brass without a ticket, actually. Maybe he even had done on his trip away. Badger wanted so badly to ask about it, but the words choked up in his mouth. So instead, what came out was a little gagging noise.

“Ya all right, Badge'? Why don't ya 'ave some water.”

Crow was leaning over the table with a bottle in his hand and a look of concern on his face. It was hard not to flare up with embarrassment when faced with that, so Badger nodded quickly, grabbed at the bottle and gulped its contents down. Mostly to avoid having to look at Crow.

“Good thing water isn't hard to come by,” Louis sighed. It sounded as if he was still bitter about being told he couldn't eat the fruit scones Gus had packed.

“But that northern watah is all 'ard watah, ain't it?” Crow teased, “My soft, southern mouth probably can't 'andle it.”

“It tastes better than the muck you drink, I'll tell you that now,” retorted Louis.

“Does water really taste different in different places?” Gus asked, shocked by this small revelation.

What followed was a whole discussion about water, that quickly descended into Louis and Crow making light-hearted North & South jokes at each other. If nothing else, it was enough for everyone to forget Badger's little wobble, which suited Badger just fine. He and Gus just sat listening for the most part, each equally able to join in, but not feeling right to do so while being with these two more confident personalities.

This set the trend for the rest of the journey, so it was fortunate that both Crow and Louis had a lot of stories to tell and liked the attention. By the time the train stopped in the little station they were getting off at, it didn't feel like they'd spent as much time on the train as Badger was expecting. And save for some stiff legs, they weren't all that weary.

“So it really is miles from here to Chillingham?” Louis glumly checked, once they were all off and on the move.

“I doubt we'll be there before morning, let's just say that,” Gus replied, checking his notes.

A quick glance at the notes had Badger agreeing with him. From the amount of squiggles and lines he could see it certainly seemed they had a lot of ground to cover. He assumed that the words were names of all the different villages. A silent agreement was made amongst them to not stop somewhere over night – so they could save on time and money. If they did end up needing a rest, they could always sneakily camp out in one of the little woods that seemed to litter the countryside here without too much risk of being caught.

Their journey quickly seemed to go from one extreme to the other though, as sitting down on the train soon became the more desirable of the two options when compared to a lengthy hike across unknown roads. It wasn't so bad for Badger, whose lanky legs served him well, but Louis was just as lanky and still managed to lag behind.

“Come on, Lozz, ya just goin' soft!” Crow called back, when the rest of them had reached the top of a hill, “All that standin' around the market all day 'as sapped the energy right outta ya.”

“When did... you get so hardy?” puffed Louis, “You're as short and round as they come, Crow!”

“Maybe we should take a break,” Gus suggested, maturely ignoring Louis's 'short and round' comment.

“But we've 'ardly got a few more miles to go,” Crow whined.

“And it'll be dark when we get there,” reasoned Gus, “I don't think their mum would be too happy if we turned up on the doorstep at this hour.”

“True, we wanna make a good impression,” agreed Crow.

It wasn't clear from that if they were actually deciding to stop or not, but either way Louis slumped down when he reached the top of the hill and gave off the vibe that he wouldn't be moving again without a very good reason. There was a bit of a stand-off after that, as Crow insisted the roadside wasn't a good place to rest and the others had to admit that was right about that. So in the end they made a rough camp in a small grassy area nearby, just out of sight of the road.

Only a couple of them had thought to pack any blankets, so they ended up huddled quite close together to keep warm. It wasn't as if they didn't all do that during sleepovers anyway, but it still made Badger feel a little uncomfortable. He was used to sleeping alone in his tiny bedroom, so having three other people curled up with him seemed a little invasive. Though it seemed that none of the others shared his concerns, as before long three Black Ravens were sound asleep on the bumpy ground.

Badger looked up into the sky. They were lucky that the air was clear tonight and it wasn't as cool as it should have been for this time of year. The stars above were even more visible out here than they were in Misthallery and if Badger was better educated, then he might have been able to name some of the constellations. As it was, he just drew lines between them in his mind until his eyelids became too heavy for him to keep them open.

This time, Badger managed not to sleep in until late, as it was still dark when he woke up. A bluey-grey sort of dark that was beginning to be chased away by the first morning light.

He sat up, carefully untangled himself from Louis and Crow, so not to disturb them, and went to stretch his legs.

Gus was already awake and staring back across at the silent road. He gave a small smile as Badger walked over.

“Morning, Badger. Ready to get on the road again?” he asked.

“More readeh than those two lumps are,” assured Badger, gesturing back towards their make-shift bed, “You been up long?”

“Only about an hour. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd get up to see the sunrise. It's sort of different, looking at it so far from home,” Gus replied, wistfully.

“Reckon the sun'll be rising in Mist'allereh and all,” mused Badger.

He briefly wondered if any of their friends who hadn't come were awake yet. Marilyn would already be setting up her stall and Scraps would no doubt be checking through last night's rubbish. Maybe Roddy would have stayed up all night worrying about Crow, you could never tell with him.

Badger's dad wouldn't be awake now, though. Not before noon...

“Better go wake the other two up then, huh?” enquired Gus. He must have been wanting to for a while, but felt it best to wait for someone else to get up, so that he didn't look impatient.

“Nothing short of a bacon buttie would wake them up,” Badger grumbled.

“I don't have any bacon, but there should be enough broth in my flasks to go around,” said Gus, “Crow said not to waste our food though...”

“Once we've got some in a dish 'e'll change 'is tune, mark my words,” Badger dismissed, as he went to help Gus get the flask and bowls out of his bag.

It seemed that Gus had been well-prepared for the trip, perhaps to the point of over-packing. Badger had no idea how he'd managed to lug all this stuff around since they'd left the train station. He seemed understandably happy that breakfast would lighten the load a little.

And sure enough, before they'd taken their second sip of broth, Crow was scrambling over, still wrapped in his blanket.

“Nothin' like somethin' warm to start the day,” he murmured, gratefully taking a bowl that Badger past across to him.

They were all almost finished by the time that Louis joined them, but none of them minded waiting for him. The broth helped them all feel refreshed and put them in better spirits than they had been last night. Even though the weather was much cloudier now than it had been when Badger fell asleep, he still felt optimistic about the morning sunrise.

Maybe this would all turn out okay after all...

He tried to hold onto that thought as they packed away and got onto the road again. It wouldn't be far now until they reached the village where Wren and Socket supposedly lived, only a few more miles at most. And although he wasn't sure exactly what would happen when they got there, Badger had every confidence that Crow had some sort of plan.

Crow could fix everything, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The travellers find who they are looking for. But what they did not expect to find was a harsh meeting with the reality of all of their situations.

If they hadn't been looking for it, then the group of travellers might well have gone by Chillingham without paying it much notice. It turned out that the village was tiny, even more so than most of the others they'd past on their way to find it.

“At least it means we have less places to check,” Gus reasoned, as they began the search for Wren and Socket's new house.

They were all glad of that after the long journey here. On another day they would probably have split off into groups, so they could cover ground quicker, but right now they were all weary enough to want to stick together. So they quietly trudged through the village, gaining little attention from the few people who were about the streets. Badger reasoned that they must get a lot of travellers passing through, given how far apart all the places here seemed to be.

After a short while, they stopped to take a look around a small bridge over a ford. It seemed that ahead of that there were only a few more houses before the village broke off into more countryside. An eager sign nearby advertised visits to see some kind of rare cows that seemed to be the highlight of Chillingham. Certainly most of the stonework they'd past by was proudly decorated with carvings of cows. Badger couldn't see what the big deal was himself, but then maybe he just wasn't looking at it right.

“I don't think there's much more to check that way,” Louis commented, “Maybe we made a wrong turn back there.”

“There ain't enough o' this place to make wrong turns. An' the sign back there said there wasn't anythin' but the castle in other direction,” replied Crow.

“There's a few more houses we could try. This does seem to be the right street, going by what the notes say...” Gus suggested.

“Looks like we won't need t' do that,” Badger cut in.

He pointed ahead and three sets of eyes followed to see what he was talking about. They were all shocked to see two familiar people walking towards them, too engaged in conversation with each other to notice them just yet.

Wren and Socket truly were a sight for sore eyes, but something about them seemed different from before. Not bad different, Badger told himself, just... different. Probably because the clothes they had on couldn't be further away from the sort Badger had been used to seeing them wear back at the market. Ill-fitting, baggy t-shirts and puffy jackets had been traded in for two smart sets of matching school uniforms. To anyone else, they would have looked like two respectable young students who wouldn't have anything to do with the likes of the Black Ravens.

He only had a brief moment to take this in, however, as Crow quickly called over to them.

“Oi, you two! Look who came to visit ya!” he shouted. He sounded pleased enough to see them that he put across what all of the group felt.

Needless to say, they both looked surprised to meet some of their old friends in a place like this. But it didn't take long for them to rush over. Socket excitedly splashed through the ford, instead of sensibly taking the bridge next to the road, like Wren did.

“What are youse lot doin' 'ere?” cried Socket. He practically bounced up and down as he drew level with them.

“Came to see you two, didn't we?” assured Louis.

“You came all the way up here just for a visit?” Wren checked. She sounded doubtful. Badger couldn't blame her for that.

“There is a bit more to it,” Crow confessed.

“Oh?” hummed Socket, as he gave the leader a curious look.

“Well, I didn't get to say goodbye to ya before ya left. But I also didn't get to 'ear what ya both thought o' it,” Crow answered, “It don't seem right that ya 'ad to move away when ya were so 'appy back at Mist'allery.”

“Mum needed to come here though. She has family in the village and things weren't working out well for her down south. When a job came up here, it made sense for her to come back,” Wren explained.

“That's all fine for ya mum, but what about the two o' ya? Ya can't wanna leave the 'ome an' friends ya 'ad since ya were kids,” Crow pressed.

“Where mum goes we go,” replied Socket, “Ya can't 'spect kids like us to live without 'er.”

“You're 'ardly kids any more,” Crow countered. This was clearly more aimed at Wren, given that Socket, as the youngest Black Raven, was only just old enough to be considered a teenager.

“But we're still not old enough to live on our own,” argued Wren, “What did you expect us to do? Buy a house in Misthallery? You know we don't have any money to do that.”

“Ya coulda stayed with any o' us. We look out for each othah,” reminded Crow.

Privately, Badger felt that he could speak for himself in that regard. As much as he'd want to help Wren and Socket, there'd be no way that he could let them stay in a house with his dad. His dad who Badger should have stayed to-

...No, not now. Worry about that later.

“It's a nice idea, Crow, but we can't do that in the real world,” Wren said, sounding more and more exasperated with each sentence, “Please don't tell me you came all the way up here just to ask us to come back.”

There was an awful silence in which that sentence settled in. Because yes, that was exactly why they'd come here. But hearing it said like that seemed to bring home what a bad idea it had been. What were they thinking? Even if the two of them had wanted to come back, how would they have convinced their mother that this was a good idea?

After they'd gone an uncomfortable length of time without a word from Crow, Wren continued; “Look, I know that you have a lot on your mind. Why don't you go wait in our house until we get back from school and we can all talk about this properly? It's just down the road and the door isn't locked. Mum might come back from the post office at lunch time, but you can just say that you all came to see us and she probably won't mind.”

“Ya don't wanna come back, do ya?”

It was a harsh shot and hearing it come out of Crow's mouth shocked them all.

“That's not what I-”

“Why would ya wanna be in Mist'allery, runnin' around with a buncha poor losahs, when instead ya could be in a posh, knobby school, learnin' 'ow to be doctahs or lawyahs or somethin'?”

“Don't talk to Wrenny like that!” yelled Socket.

“It's all right, Socket. I can handle this,” assured Wren, before glaring at Crow, “You're hardly being fair. You know that we both love the Black Ravens and doing what we do. But our family is here now. And yes, I am glad that we can finally go to a proper school. Maybe you don't think it's important, but we could actually make something of ourselves if we stick in here. So then we don't have to be dragged from one temporary job to another, like Mum is. We need this chance. Our teacher says that we're smart-”

“I say that ya smart!” Crow cut in.

“That's not what I meant! You've always been proud of us, but we can't get through life on your praise alone,” snapped Wren. She was so angry. Proper angry, Badger felt, not the sibling sort of angry she often got with Socket; “Maybe you sniff at paper qualifications, but the rest of the world doesn't. There was no point in school back at Misthallery, because the teachers labelled us as... as not worth their time. We were just two more poor kids in a class of many. But here they actually care about what we can do! Socket's been taken a side and put into a metalwork class, because they saw how good he was at it. Who except for you lot even cared about Socket's skills back home?”

“The people whose 'ouses 'e fixed,” retorted Crow.

“And what good was he to them after that? They're not awful people, Crow, but they're also not going to help us find work for ourselves,” insisted Wren.

“When did it become about findin' a job? Ya 'ad work back at the black market!” Crow shot.

There was another uncomfortable pause, then Wren mumbled; “Did you really think that would last forever...?”

This was clearly too much for Crow. Without a second-glance he turned on his heels and marched away from them all, back up the road they'd come from. Unusually, none of the group felt inclined to go after him.

“You hit a sore spot there,” commented Louis, as they all watched him go.

“Someone had to tell him,” Wren insisted, “I'm just sorry that he dragged you all up here before he heard it.”

“Nah, it's our fault for not saying anything sooner. This whole thing could have been avoided. It's just that... no one wanted to do it,” admitted Louis.

“Wot're ya talkin' about?” pressed Socket, “Wot did ya need to tell 'im about?”

Gus looked equally as confused about this. And, although Badger couldn't see his own face, he reckoned that he did as well. It seemed like Wren and Louis were in on something that the rest of them had been left out of.

“That we can't always be Black Ravens. As nice as the idea would be,” answered Wren.

“It's something that a few of us have known for a while now,” Louis added, when he saw how much it seemed to take the others a back, “And we know it's hard to accept, but change happens. Heck, life happens and we just can't be sure that all of us are gonna be there forever. It's been good to us while we were kids and maybe we'll get a bit longer out of it, but even Crowlo's started to get restless, what with his disappearing.”

“But we can't...” Socket sniffed.

It seemed that he didn't know what to say after that. Despite that he'd moved away from Misthallery, it didn't seem to have dawned on him that the Black Ravens could ever split up. As if everyone would keep doing the same thing while he was away and it'd all be waiting for him, should he ever want to return to it.

Maybe Crow had felt the same way when he left them.

“We already have been,” Wren sighed. She put a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder.

“You're wrong,” Gus piped up, “We'll never stop being the Black Ravens. Maybe in time we'll stop doing the black market, but that isn't all that we are. We're friends and the Black Ravens means that. I-if we stop being the Black Ravens, we s-stop being friends. And I d-don't think we c-can do that...”

His shaky nerves were apparent as he spoke, even if what he was saying seemed like such a confident statement. Maybe none of the others had been thinking about it like that before, but his words clearly resonated with them all.

“Yeah, you're right about that,” Louis mumbled, “I deffo feel a proper fool for thinking we were falling apart...”

“We should go aftah Crow,” Socket squeaked.

“No, the three of us will go after Crow,” corrected Louis, “What Wren said about you and her is right – you need these chances. Just go to that school and be the best you can be. I promise we'll sort things out with him and it'll be all right.”

“B-b-but 'ow am I s'pose to focus o-on school work an' junk w-when Crow's all angry an' cross with Wrenny...?” Socket demanded, clearly on the verge of tears.

“Because we all want you to do well,” Gus said, “Crow being cross won't last forever. He cares too much about us. And when he's thinking right, he'll be so proud of you both, you'll see.”

“If ya sure...?” Socket mumbled, doubtfully.

“We're sure,” concluded Louis, “Now we'd better be off – that Crow's got some set of legs on him when he wants to.”

“Take care,” Wren whispered, seeming a bit emotional herself, even if she was better at hiding it than her brother was, “And good luck with him.”

The five of them murmured various awkward farewells to each other, before Louis, Gus and Badger headed off after Crow.

It was hard for Badger to look at Wren before they left, because he felt so sorry for her. At least back when they had been kids, Wren had such a huge crush on Crow (a fact that Socket broadcast to them all, much to Wren's dismay) and, even if it had died down now, having Crow yell at her like that must have been hard. Badger knew exactly how he'd feel in that situation and the nausea it brought upon him seemed to sting in his throat. He wanted to tell Wren that he knew how she felt and that, somehow, it'd be okay. But he couldn't do that without it being weird. So he'd just given the two of them a silent nod and followed after the others.

They reasoned that Crow would probably be going back the way they came and, if they followed that road, they'd soon catch up with him. None of them felt in too much of a rush to close the gap between them, however. Even though with Badger's skills at running he could easily have done so in little time.

“What are we gonna say when we do find him?” Louis checked, as the three of them trudged along.

“I think he just needs time. So even if we do catch up with him and he doesn't say a word, that's fine. He just needs to know that we're there for when he's ready,” answered Gus.

“You're probably right. Just like you were before. When did you get so wise, Gus?” Louis mused.

“I, um, I just say what I think I should...” evaded Gus, clearly embarrassed.

Although he hadn't voiced it, Badger felt the same way that Louis did about this. When they were kids, hardly a word came out of Gus's mouth that wasn't about Aunt Taffy's delicious sweets. But in the recent years, Gus had gotten both quieter and seemingly more worldly when he did talk. Maybe, even if he had mostly been confined to Misthallery, Gus had learned a lot more than they gave him credit for. It definitely made Badger feel slightly guilty that he hadn't noticed it much before now.

They walked a few miles more before catching sight of Crow, a distant figure on the hilly roads ahead. He seemed to be marching with intent even now and they followed loyally behind him. Each of them was probably thinking about what they'd say when Crow did want to talk to them. Or at least, Badger knew that he was.

Perhaps they could just tell him what Gus had said, about how they'll always be Black Ravens, even if they were apart. That might cushion the blow of Wren and Socket not coming back with them. And hopefully, when he'd had time to think about it, Crow would realise that he should be proud of the two siblings for doing so well in their school. Because, even if they don't come back to Misthallery, that doesn't mean the rest of the Black Ravens can't visit them, right?

Or maybe Crow would be too shaken at the thought of his friends drifting from him. Even if they might still think of each other as friends, it didn't change the fact that they won't be able to keep up the black market much longer. With Wren and Socket gone, that was a massive dent in the amount of repair work and auction ideas they'd have. And, although it hadn't seemed like a big deal to Badger before now, he had to admit that Marilyn had been spending more time on her parent's stall and less time with them lately. While Crow had been away, many of them had been finding other places for themselves to fill the void he'd left. Only Scraps diligently kept seeking out treasures to sell, while Badger kept hopelessly waiting for Crow.

They couldn't run a black market with just three of them...

Although maybe Crow could perform some miracles. Even if Badger was forced to admit that his faith had been dampened by how unprepared Crow had been for when they met up with Wren and Socket. He focused on the speck in the distance and knew that he had to have faith in that person.

Because, if he couldn't rely on Crow, then who could Badger rely on...?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Crow doesn't go back to Misthallery, Badger is very suddenly faced with learning more about where he'd been in his two months absence.

The train journey back to Misthallery went as uncomfortably as could be expected when one of their party wasn't talking at all. The other three had managed to catch up with Crow, but he'd remained silent the whole time and simply trudged along with the rest of them to the train station. Once they'd got on the move he'd stared at fixed points in the walls or floor for the entirety of the journey and never made eye-contact with his friends.

This is turn made the rest of them feel unwilling to even talk to each other and had resulted in what felt like the longest train journey ever.

Although the lack of noise seemed like a bit of an agitation to Louis in particular, Badger and Gus actually didn't mind it so much. It was just a shame that it was also filled with the worry of what was going on with Crow. Each of them wanted him to speak up, even once, so they'd know where they stood right now.

But he didn't.

Badger had so much that he wanted to say to Crow. He wished that he could reassure their leader that it was going to be all right, they hadn't lost Wren & Socket forever and this wasn't going to be the end for the Black Ravens. He wanted to tell him that if the worst happened, Badger would always stick by Crow. But at the same time, he knew that even if Crow did open up to them, Badger wouldn't be able to say any of those things. He'd clam up like usual and leave the talking to the others. Some brave new Badger he was.

Eventually the train did pull up to the station of the town closest to Misthallery and there was an awkward shuffle amongst the three of them. Made more awkward still when Gus and Louis realised they were on their feet, but Crow wasn't.

“Crow, this is our stop,” Louis pointed out.

Not even a glance his way.

“If we don't hurry the train will pull off without us,” pressed Gus. His face showed the sort of panic that Badger was feeling on the inside.

Still not a word from the leader, this was something that Badger hadn't even dared to dread would happen. Made worse still was the fact that he also hadn't moved from Crow's side either.

Louis tutted loudly; “Gus, get off the train and try to get someone to hold it for a few minutes. Badger, come with me.”

Not needing to be told twice, Gus dashed away and out the door to find a station guard. For whatever reason, Badger was a bit more hesitant, but he did get up and follow Louis. The two of them walked far enough away for Crow to not be able to hear them, but didn't get off the train.

“You need to stay with Crow,” Louis whispered.

“What!”

In that instant, all of the worry in the world seemed to flood to the front of Badger's mind. He had no idea where Crow was going or if he'd ever talk to him again. It had been fine when it was the three of them, but just Badger couldn't do anything on his own. He could barely even talk to Crow on the best of days, let alone right now!

A-and what about his Dad... waiting back in Misthallery? Had he even managed this long without Simon by his side to help him...?

“You've got this kind of... I dunno, understanding and loyalty to him that me and Gus can't match,” Louis insisted, “If I stayed with him I can't promise I wouldn't hit him in the face for being such a prat about all this and while Gus might be wise, he'd also be too nervous. But I think Crow would feel better about talking to you. And you have to admit that you didn't want to leave him.”

So Louis had paid attention to the fact that Badger stayed by Crow's side.

“Ah'reet, b-but what do I do?” Badger mumbled.

“Just stick with him and don't let him do anything stupid. If you do get a chance to call us then do that, but we know he'll be fine if he's with you,” instructed Louis.

Badger wished that he had Louis's confidence in himself.

He nodded and muttered, “W-will do... See yer lateh then, Lozza...”

“Take care,” concluded Louis.

After he'd given Badger an encouraging pat on the back, he hopped out of the nearest door. It was pulled shut heavily behind him and within a few moments the train lurched into movement once more. Maybe Gus hadn't managed to find a station guard and Louis was just lucky to get off in time. Badger wasn't sure. Right now that was the last thing on his mind.

Part of him felt that he should have asked Louis to check in on his dad, but he knew that he couldn't do that to the other Black Ravens. Even if Louis was the oldest of the group, Badger still felt as if no one could deal with his dad except for him.

As the train started to pick up speed once more, Badger nervously walked back through to the carriage where Crow was and sat back down on the seat he'd been in before. Right now he just wanted to cry. This was the worst day in a series of pretty terrible days...

“Thanks, Badge'.”

It took Badger a moment to even register that Crow had spoken. For all he'd wished he would do throughout the journey, he'd subconsciously reached the conclusion that he wouldn't. To hear Crow's voice again was a very sudden surprise.

“It's ah'reet...?” Badger mumbled. He pressed close in the hope for more. Without realising it, he'd even bitten his lip in anticipation.

“I'm glad ya came with me. It's all gonna be okay,” Crow assured.

If Badger had hoped for anything other than that, he was sorely disappointed. Those small words of comfort were all that he got from Crow. But they did just that – comfort him. As much as he still didn't know why Crow hadn't got off the train to go back to Misthallery or even where they were going, he now felt that Crow knew. And Crow would look after him. Maybe Gus had been right before and he did just need time to blow off some steam before coming back. It would be Badger who'd stuck by his side and Crow might even be thankful to him for that...

Butterflies danced in Badger's stomach at the prospect of further praise from Crow.

The warm, fuzzy feelings lasted long enough that they almost cancelled out the nerves Badger felt when they didn't get off the train at the next stop along. Part of him had been hoping that Crow might realise the mistake he's made, get off here and that the two of them could walk back together, since it was only a few miles. But that wasn't to be the case.

Nor would Crow get off at the next stop. Nor the one after that. After a while, Badger stopped counting stops and stayed confident in the knowledge that Crow knew what he was doing.

Eventually Crow did rise from his seat, which took Badger as much by surprise as it had done when he'd spoken. The lanky lad was even more shocked at where they were apparently going. The biggest hubbub in all of England.

“London?” Badger gasped.

“Just stick with me, we'll be movin' quick,” Crow hummed.

He snapped his bag up and Badger hardly had time to do the same before he'd darted out of the door. At least in this, Badger knew that Crow couldn't best him. All of the Black Ravens might be good at flitting through a crowd, but none were faster than Badger. His speed was one of the few things he had confidence in and he knew, should it come to it, that he could easily beat Crow in a race.

He saw the stout leader's cap disappear into the rush of people and made to follow him. The two of them pushed out of the station and down the street. Even here, London seemed to be just as busy. Badger had been to cities before, but he'd never seen anything quite like this. Privately he felt like this would be the perfect place for a bit of pickpocketing if he'd had the time, but right now he was too focused on Crow. Which was starting to become the story of his life...

As they cut down winding roads and side-streets it was clear that Crow had a definite idea where he was going and how to get there. He'd travelled these paths before. This had to be where he'd gone in the two months that he'd been away. At least for a good chunk of it.

After some time, they reached parts of the city that seemed to be less busy. It didn't feel like they were packed in like sardines any more and instead felt more as if they were fish heading down a river – there were still people about here, but not as many. This place gave the impression of a much rougher residential part of the city, which Badger was thankful for. Even having never been here before, it still felt more familiar to him, almost putting him back in the frame of mind of when his mam had visited friends in Manchester when he was little.

Now he could keep pace with Crow without having to worry at all. Although he was still almost caught off-guard when his companion made an abrupt stop in front of a hotel. Badger wouldn't have even noticed the building if it hadn't been for Crow, since it blended in so well with the rest of its surroundings.

“The Weathered Duke's 'otel,” Crow told him.

It seemed like a strange name, though Badger knew that a lot of guest houses had artsy names like that. No doubt there'd be some rich history behind it that'd probably be written on a brochure in the lobby. Not that Badger could read those, but Crow would tell him anything important if he needed to know.

He followed Crow inside and watched him look around. It didn't take long for Crow to catch sight of an old woman dozing at the counter and head over to her.

“Margaret...? Are ya awake?”

His voice was so quiet that he was obviously nervous of waking her up if she wasn't. That hidden tenderness to Crow always made Badger smile.

There was a loud snore from Margaret and it seemed to snap her out of her slumber; “Oh... Crow. So you're back, are you? And you've got a friend with you this time.”

“Yeah, this is Badge', one o' the Black Ravens I told ya about,” Crow eagerly introduced. All traces of the silently brooding boy from the train were gone now and had been replaced by someone who sounded so cheerful that Badger had to remind himself that this change was probably just an act to not worry the elderly lady.

“Nice to meet you there, sonny,” Margaret yawned, “Now Crow, show yourself up to your room and we can talk about this in the morning. Your friend should be running around back there, too. Keeping himself out of mischief, I'd hope.”

“Thanks, Margaret. Ya the best,” chimed Crow.

Badger noted that Crow's face lit up at the mention of his 'friend'. It was a sort of joy Badger hadn't seen from him at all since he'd returned to Misthallery and made him uneasy for reasons that he couldn't place.

He turned away to let Margaret get back to dozing and motioned for Badger to follow him to a staircase. Where they were going was kept a little more out of sight from the main routes of the lobby and even the staircase itself was roped off with a note that said 'STAFF ONLY'. But Crow wasted no time in stepping over this, so Badger followed him.

It seemed that Crow had transformed back into his usually chatty self, as on the way up he started to give Badger the full run-down of this place.

“Mags in a nice old lady, she let me stay 'ere when I was runnin' around London like a clueless fool,” he explained, “Said I 'ad to work my keep like the others o' course, but workin' ain't a problem for me. I was just glad to 'ave a roof ovah my 'ead.”

“Uh-huh,” replied Badger. Not wanting to talk too much, since he'd been anxious to hear about Crow's trip away for a while now.

“Would ya believe that she knows Mr. Layton as well?” Crow went on, “Remembah that thing in the news when 'alf o' London got smashed up by a big robot? Well Mags an' 'er granddaughah Becky were two o' the people livin' in that undahground London! Said they 'ad no idea they were involved in anythin' fishy an' they were runnin' an 'otel down there, just like this one. Well, apparently it was a bit poshah than this one. Aftah all that stuff with the robot, they pulled their money togethah to buy this place.”

“That's pretty impressive...” Badger mumbled, mostly because he felt it was expected of him to say something. Admittedly it was indeed very impressive, but Badger was much more focused on Crow's involvement with the building at the moment.

Luckily for Badger, Crow pressed on, “An' they weren't the only one 'ere who've 'ad a run-in with Mr. Layton. This must be like a gatherin' spot for people 'e's 'elped, 'cause-”

“Talking about me already?”

“Umid!”

At the top of the stairs a tall boy was waiting for them. His arms were filled with laundry and he was looking down at Crow with an exasperated expression.

The leader took the rest of the steps almost two at a time to reach him and Badger hurried to keep up.

“Betcha didn't expect to see me again so soon,” Crow proclaimed, as they drew level him.

“No, I thought I'd seen the last of you for a while,” teased Umid, “So what do we owe the honour of another visit from Crow? And who is your friend here?”

“This is Badgah, one o' the Black Ravens from back 'ome,” Crow answered, “Badge', this 'ere is Umid. He came from Mosinnia to see wot ol' England was like.”

“And so far I've not seen much more than bad weather,” Umid laughed, “He was right about what he was saying earlier though. Mr. Layton and his friends helped save my village a few years back. My family might not be here if it wasn't for him. But enough about me, you still haven't answered why you've come back so soon, Crow.”

“Can we talk about it latah?” muttered Crow, “We've 'ad a long trip 'ere an' we're both kinda knackahed.”

Now that Crow mentioned it, Badger had to admit that the weariness of the last couple of days were catching up on him. The last night's sleep they'd gotten was out in a field, which had hardly been the most comfortable place in the world to rest your head.

“Very well. Your room is made up and waiting for you,” Umid concluded, “Becky is going to have your head when she sees you've come back here to waste our food again though.”

“She likes me really,” Crow joked.

He waved Umid off to go back to his job, before he motioned Badger through to the room. Once inside, Crow dumped his bag down on the floor and jumped onto the bed.

“This place is propah nice, Badge'. We don't get as fancy rooms as the guests do, but it's still the comfiest bed I've evah slept on,” he sighed, wistfully.

Not in any mood to share Crow's enthusiasm, Badger placed his own bag down and sat on the edge of the second bed. He nodded in response and although he tried not to look too upset, some of it must have come through enough for Crow to notice.

“I'm sorry Badge'...” Crow said, his voice sounded unusually sensitive, “I know I've put ya through a lot today an' not really explained very much. But... tomorrah I'll get everythin' sorted. Let's just get a good night's sleep first.”

“Yeah.”

Badger lay down and turned away from Crow. It felt harsh to snub him like this, but he wanted Crow to know that his behaviour today hadn't been right. Even if he had known he was going to come here, he could have at least told them so they wouldn't have worried. The others were probably still worried about them both back home, for that matter. Tomorrow Badger would have to find a phone so he could call Louis.

“Badge'...” Crow whispered. His voice was soft and laced with worry. It made Badger half hope that he was going to come over to apologise, but that wasn't meant to be. Instead Crow simply lay down himself and presumably drifted off to sleep soon after.

Once again, Badger found that his mind was too full for him to peacefully reach any sort of slumber himself. He envied Margaret downstairs, who seemed to have no trouble falling asleep where she sat. Badger never knew why he was such a light-sleeper in general, but he wished right now that he could just shut off for a while and forget about all his worries over what had happened and what might happen still.

He was still awake when he heard the floorboards creak maybe an hour later, but he pretended to be asleep as he heard Crow sneak out of the room. Nice try, Crow, but you've taught me better than that, Badger grimly thought to himself.

After Crow's footsteps had disappeared down the corridor, Badger quickly got out of bed to follow him. It didn't take long to catch up, so Badger did all he could to hold back and stay silent. Sneaking around after Crow didn't feel as bad when Crow was the one sneaking off in the first place.

Most of the lights were off in the hotel now, save for a dim lamp in the lobby, should any late-night guests go for a wander. Even Margaret seemed to have disappeared from behind the counter. The whole place gave off a feel that they shouldn't be there right now. Not that this stopped Crow, who disappeared out one of the back doors.

This time Badger waited a bit longer before he followed, since he didn't want the noise from the door to alert Crow. By the time he did go after, he'd almost lost Crow, who had turned a corner at the end of the street. As stealthily as he could, Badger hurried after and paused at the corner to peer around. He'd been right to do this, because Crow hadn't gotten too far away. In fact, he'd stopped entirely and seemed to be talking to... Umid.

“Sorry that I dropped in unannounced like that,” he said.

“We are all getting used to it from you,” scolded Umid, though his tone sounded affectionate enough, “So are you going to tell me any more about it now that it's just the two of us? When you left it sounded as if Big Bad Crow was ready to go back home and lead his group again.”

“Things didn't go exactly as planned...” mumbled Crow. On that, Badger could only agree with him.

“Oh?” Umid pressed. He walked over to put a hand on Crow's shoulder. This sudden display of affection made Badger's heart race unreasonably.

Crow looked up to him and explained, “Things changed while I was away, would ya believe? I dunno if we can go back to bein' the Black Ravens we were before... I got scared, so I bolted 'ere without really thinkin'.”

To hear Crow admit to anyone that he was scared was almost too much for Badger. He'd never open up to any of them like that, so what was so special about Umid? Badger could feel a sudden jealousy boil up inside of him, even though he should have no reason to feel that way.

“And you dragged that poor boy with you,” added Umid.

“I'll 'ave to make it up to Badge',” Crow vowed. Badger also more than felt as if he should; “But I can do that tomorrah. Right now I just wanna to talk to ya.”

“What makes me so important?” wondered Umid.

This was something that Badger also wanted to know the answer to. He pressed in close and leaned so far forward that he was running the risk of getting caught. Though he needed to be that close to even be able to hear the low purr that came out of Crow's mouth next.

“Ya already know wot...”

His tone sounded so alien to Badger. It held all of the usual intoxicating effects of Crow's voice, but seemed to be amplified even more so. The eavesdropper felt himself shudder with embarrassment just to hear it.

And if that wasn't overwhelming enough...

...Crow leaned up, standing on the balls of his feet. In response, Umid ducked down to be level with Crow. It took Badger's brain a moment to catch up with what his eyes were seeing.

They were kissing. Crow had kissed Umid. And Umid had... kissed him back.

In that moment, Badger's world came crashing down. He felt as if he was going to be sick.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that everything's gone wrong anyway, Badger can finally give Crow a piece of his mind. Only it doesn't help his situation at all...

Badger could hardly even remember how he'd got back up to the room. Only it must have involved some fast running, even for him. Because one moment he'd been watching Crow and Umid kiss each other and seemingly the next thing he knew he was lying face down on the bed, crying his eyes out.

He was so upset and angry that he even ended up biting down on the sheets to block out the ugly sounds from his mouth. Although he knew he wouldn't damage them, getting the sheets all soggy like that did make him feel bad. He'd have to make it up to them for this later...

...Actually, no.

What did Badger owe these people? These strangers who had taken Crow away and made their leader feel more like one of them than one of the Black Ravens. It wasn't fair!

But even thinking like that wasn't fair. Badger couldn't blame the kindly old Margaret or her granddaughter because they'd let Crow have a place to stay. He couldn't blame Umid for probably being more able to talk about his feelings for Crow than Badger was. Everything that had happened to Badger recently could only be blamed on one person...

“...Badge'?”

And there he was! The great Crow himself stood at the door with a face full of concern. It was far too late for concern, though. Perhaps Crow should have had some of that when he'd dragged Badger from one end of England to the other in his quest to make sure all of the Black Ravens were exactly where he wanted them to be.

Badger sat up and glared across at Crow. He tried to hold his legs still to stop them from shaking, but it had little effect.

It seemed that Crow knew Badger wasn't going to be the one to start this, so he began to explain himself; “We 'eard ya run off... I'm sorry. We didn't know ya were there. If we 'ad done then we wouldn't 'ave-”

“Kissed each otheh?” Badger finished, “You'd 'ave just waited until lateh when I was gone so you could do it then?”

Crow hesitated.

“I know that wot ya saw probably upset ya,” he reasoned, “It might seem... wrong that I wanted to kiss anothah boy, but I'm still the same-”

“It weren't yer kissin' 'im that bothehed me!” shouted Badger. He tried to drown out how awful interrupting Crow while he was talking made him feel, “If yer think afteh all this time that somethin' like that would upset me, then yer doun't know me at all!”

“Why are ya so angry then?” Crow demanded. It was clear that being told he didn't know one of his friends bothered him.

“Because... because 'ow dare yer like some boy when I've spent so long lying awake at nights wishing that yer would!” cried Badger, “Do yer know how 'ard it's been to grow up thinkin' I'm some kindeh sick weirdo fer getting buttehflies in me stomach when I think of yer? And I'd 'ate meself because yer're Crowlo – so perfect, so normal. All the girls like Crow. All the girls and Badgeh! But why would yer waste even one minute looking at Badgeh when yer could 'ave anyone else in the world? I was kindeh ah'reet with it when I thought yer'd just be running afteh lasses like Louis and everyone else who's not sick like me, but yer 'ad to... 'ad to... wanneh kisses boys... A different boy to me...”

At that point Badger had to stop, because his chest was heaving so hard that he didn't think he could carry on talking anyway. All of the hurt that he'd bottled up for ages now suddenly seemed to have no trouble flying right out of his mouth.

“Badge'... I didn't know...” Crow murmured.

There were a few more sobs until Badger felt he was ready to continue; “Why would yer know? Yer think yer take such good care of us, but yer doun't. Yer doun't give a toss what we want. That's why yer stormed off when Wren and Socket told yer they might wanneh do something different to what yer 'ad planned for them. That's why yer just let me follow you 'ere without telling me even one thing to stop me from worrying. Mr. Boss-man Crow just wants everything to go smoothly, without thinking about what the rest of us might want.”

“Ya ain't bein' fair!” protested Crow.

“Nah. Nah, I'm not being fair,” Badger agreed, “But afteh putting up with yer not being fair fer so long I think I'm overdue a chance to not be fair fer a bit.”

And suddenly Badger had stood up. He stared past Crow and out into the corridor. It was eerily dark, but somehow it looked a lot more inviting than being right here at this very moment.

“Let's just talk this through,” Crow offered. He started to walk over to Badger.

Badger smiled down at him. It was a weak, tired smile that contained no humour at all, but an infinite amount of hurt and malice.

“Doun't think I will.”

With that, Badger was out of the door. He had no trouble getting around Crow, as even if Crow had time to react, Badger was still the taller and faster of them both. Because of that, Badger knew as he bolted down the stairs that there was no way Crow could catch him. There were shouts to stop coming from behind him, but Badger didn't listen.

Umid was sat in the lobby. In all likelihood he'd been waiting for Crow to finish talking to Badger. It was awful that Badger and Umid had to meet in these circumstances. Because otherwise they might have gotten along really well. Maybe they could have even been friends and Umid might not think Badger was all that weird. But it was far, far too late for that possibility to come to pass now.

Fortunately for Badger, it took Umid a fraction of a second too long to get up out of the chair. Even though Badger knew nothing about him, he could wager that Umid might be able to keep pace with him better than Crow. So it was lucky that he hadn't been prepared for the lanky northerner to race by him.

Badger was out the door and gone. He left it hanging open behind him and darted off down the street. A few late night straggler looked his way, but there was probably far too much drama happening in London already for them to pay much attention to one running boy. So he was allowed to continue his escape uninterrupted.

After he'd put a few streets between himself and the hotel, Badger reached the conclusion that Crow and Umid hadn't been able to follow him quickly enough. Or maybe they just didn't bother trying at all. Since they'd have had so much explaining to do with each other and Crow probably hated Badger after hearing all the things he'd said.

His stomach lurched at the thought of Crow hating him. Even if at this point Badger shouldn't care about Crow, he still did. All those years of pining after him couldn't be washed away just because Badger had been harshly disillusioned about the sort of person Crow was.

It didn't take his brain long to come up with many, many awful scenarios about what Crow would do now that he likely hated Badger. Perhaps he'd take Umid back to Misthallery and tell the others that Badger had wasn't part of the Black Ravens any more, because he was stupid and said awful things. But it didn't matter, because Umid could join them instead and he wouldn't be weird like Badger was...

He choked out a loud sob at this thought.

And even though he was probably safe at this point, Badger found that his legs hadn't stopped moving. In all honesty, he didn't even know where he was or where he was going, just that he didn't want to stop still anywhere right now.

After a while of simply wandering through the streets with all these terribly extreme notions of how he might never be okay again, Badger knew that he should come up with some sort of plan. There was no way that he could go back to Crow after that and even returning to the other Black Ravens would be a bad idea. But there must be someone in the world that needed a Badger to be there...

Then it came back to him, with crystal clarity. The one person who did need him, but who he'd ignored as he'd gone on this wild goose-chase.

His dad.

In that moment of desperation, Badger allowed himself to overlook all of the problems between the two of them. He told himself, not for the first time, that his dad was simply unwell and needed to be looked after. Badger... no, Simon was the only person who could properly care for him.

This was what he should have been doing all this time, instead of running around the market with a head filled full of dreams that Crow had put there. Because he knew now that couldn't be Badger any more. Not the old Badger, moulded by Crow into someone who could work as part of a team but was too shy to speak his mind, or the new Badger, who was supposed to be confident, but was actually just angry and sad.

He could be Simon. And he should have been Simon this whole time. Because him and his old man only had each other now that Mam was gone. Even her photo had been left in the bag back at the hotel. It was terrible to realise this, but Simon knew that he just had to accept it was gone now. He had his memories of his mam and he had a dad to take care of. That would do.

So he had now reached a decision about where he should go, but he still had no idea how to get there. In his flight, Simon had weaved through streets and alleys with the intention of losing his possible pursuers. No regard had been held for direction and London was such a big place...

It would help if he could read the signs that were littered about everywhere. No doubt the train station was an important part of London and it'd be easy to get directions back there. But all the letters on the signs just became a jumble in Simon's head. Looking at those words was a fruitless task that made him feel worse about himself, so he didn't bother.

He could always ask someone for directions, but the prospect of talking to strangers filled him with a sense of dread. Even if he knew this was his best bet, Simon still couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he'd get half way to mustering up the courage, walk towards someone and then change his mind and hurry off. Pathetic. So pathetic...

The wandering lasted for an indefinite amount of time. It couldn't have been that long, since it was still dark all around, but to Simon it felt like forever.

It had to stop.

He needed help and he wouldn't get it if he didn't ask for it.

So after some searching, Simon found a police officer. Back in Misthallery, the Chippe boys were always friendly enough. They might not have been the most fond of the troublesome market kids, but they'd never refuse to help someone in need. So surely the officers here must be the same. After all, that Grosky guy who'd helped with the spectre mystery had been from London and he seemed nice enough.

Simon nervously approached the man and tried to get his attention by saying hello. What actually came out his mouth was a hoarse squeak, which made the hapless officer nearly jump out of his skin.

“Bloody hell! Don't go sneaking up on people like that, boy!” gasped the officer, “Is this your idea of a joke?”

“...S'not... I-I-I were... j-just...”

“Speak up, I can't hear a word you're saying.”

The man pressed in close. Although Simon knew that the officer didn't mean any harm, he was still very tall and overbearing. His moustache and large eyebrows twitched irritably as spoke. And his demanding tone only made Simon feel more nervous still.

“S-sorreh... didn't m-mean no 'arm or n-nowt... just wonderin-”

“That's quite a strong accent you've got there, lad. I can't understand a word you're saying!” the man laughed, “Now speak proper English and we can start agai- ...Hey!”

But it was too late. Simon's... oh, who is he kidding, Badger's nerves gave out completely and he'd darted away. It was so stupid to think that someone like him could ever waste the time of a busy officer like that. Why had he been so presumptuous? Everyone in London was far too important to be bothered by someone like Badger.

That included Crow...

His embarrassment spurred him on enough to put some distance between the confused officer and himself, but soon after that Badger's legs cried out that they were almost at a loss for energy. It was unusual for Badger to run out of adrenaline, since he wasn't use to aching like this from exercise, so he didn't immediately know what was going on. Perhaps his addled state, combined with the exhaustion from several days worrying had finally caught up with him.

All he needed was a few moment's rest. Then he could be up and on the go again.

Even if he couldn't bring himself to ask someone the way, if he wandered around enough he would eventually either find the train station or a way out of London. He'd get there, he knew he would. And after that he could go home to his dad and forget about all of this mess.

Somehow it would be all right.

On that fleeting feeling of positivity, his legs gave out under him. Badger felt his knees scrape along the ground. It probably hurt, but his mind was going all hazy and numb, so he couldn't tell. Why hadn't he noticed before how sluggish his movements had become? Was something wrong with him...?

In the swirling grey of a foggy London morning, Badger blacked out...


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his terrible trek through London, Badger wakes up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brings us to the end of Act One. Next time I update this fic it will be to start Act Two. But before that I'll be posting a side-story about Crow's unseen adventures in London, which occurred during his two months absence. The title of that fic is 'Squawking at Chimneys'. Keep an eye out for it and thank you for giving this series a chance!

When Badger started to wake up, it was a slow process. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep for and couldn't remember more than a few faded details of what had happened before he'd lost consciousness. As he searched his sleep-addled mind for answers, it started to become clearer...

He'd been running through London at night... Because he'd left the hotel in a hurry after seeing... seeing...

Crow and Umid.

It was probably best not to think too much about that right now, even if just their names brought a stingingly clear image of the event back into Badger's head. There'd be time to worry about the two of them later.

Especially since he had no idea where he was. Part of him wanted to fall back to sleep, so he wouldn't have to worry about that for a while longer, but it wasn't to be. Now that his body had started to wake up, it was only a matter of time before he couldn't avoid opening his eyes any more.

When he did, the sight that greeted him was a room, small and stuffy. Although perhaps it wasn't truly as tiny as the impression it gave, since every surface was filled with all kinds of things to take up space. Badger had never seen so many knick-knacks, sheets of paper and other junk crammed into one place. There were many shelves, each one looked as if it had been hastily constructed with the intention of holding more items from what seemed like a collection that lacked rhyme or reason.

As he sat up, he noted that the floor was exactly the same. It would have taken a few minutes to even say what colour the carpet was, because he could see so little of it. And when Badger swung a leg over the side he very nearly stepped on a little glass doll.

Once he managed to carefully make his way off the bed without breaking anything, Badger realised that he was dressed in old pyjamas. They were too small for him and his skinny ankles poked out of the bottom. But they did tell him that he'd at least been out long enough for someone to have changed him, which filled him with embarrassment. And given that Badger was usually a light sleeper, it also told him that there'd probably been more to do with his latest nap than just needing a bit of rest.

The mysterious room of junk was very dark, so it took Badger's eyes a moment to adjust to the light when he got out into the hallway.

It was clear that whoever lived in that room must have been restricted to just that space, as the rest of the house seemed a lot less cluttered. There was still a kind of busy feeling to it, with shelves of books and magazines littered about, but in general it seemed a lot cleaner than the room he'd just left.

Badger made his way downstairs. If he'd been hoping not to alert anyone to his being awake then that idea was dashed by how creaky most of the steps were. Not that it mattered, since he didn't fancy sneaking out and into the unknown right now anyway. Whoever lived here had clearly been kind enough to take him in, so they were instantly preferable to whatever lay outside.

There was noise coming from one of the rooms, the sound of humming. Badger recognised the tune from a popular song that had been played on the radio a lot lately. So he made his way towards this sound and poked his head around the door it was coming from.

“So you're finally awake? I'm so glad! Honestly, if you'd slept any longer then I would've called the doctors, no matter how much fuss Thomas would've made.”

The voice made Badger jump with a start, though he felt bad for doing that as soon as he saw who it belonged to. A kindly-looking woman who was wearing a stained apron and had her hair messily tied back. Her face seemed to be giving way to years of worry, but through it still shone a very genuine smile.

Not sure how he should reply, Badger opened and closed his mouth. He knew that he should thank her and find out where he was, but the words didn't seem to join together right on their way from his head to his mouth.

Though it didn't seem to matter, as the lady swiftly walked over to steer him towards an empty seat at a table and had no trouble filling in the blanks of the conversation with words of her own.

“You just take a seat here, poppet. After being asleep for all that time you must be famished! I've whipped up a bit of breakfast, but just tell me if you want any more, all right? Old Maureen will look after you, no doubt about that.”

It turned out that 'a bit of breakfast' was an understatement, as the table before Badger was laid out with toast, eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, crumpets, cereal and what Badger assumed was black pudding, but he hadn't come across it before, so it was hard to judge. He couldn't manage getting through all this in a week, let alone for breakfast.

“...Th-thank yer, um... yeah...” he finally managed to stutter out, after he'd gotten a good look at everything.

“Think nothing of it,” chimed Maureen, “I better get you a drink to wash all that down with. Would you rather have milk or a nice glass of fresh orange?”

“Milk w-will be f-fine...” Badger whispered.

“Right you are, love. Just give me a moment,” replied Maureen. She turned to make her way to the fridge, but didn't stop talking, “What's your name anyway? Tom is a stubborn one, so he wouldn't let me know.”

“B-badgeh,” he told her and he couldn't help but wonder why this Thomas would know his name at all, let alone hide it from anyone.

“Yes, I know that much,” assured Maureen, as she returned to the table with a glass of milk, “But what's your real name?”

“...My, uh, r-real name is... is Badgeh... Th-thanks for the milk...”

He quickly started to drink from the glass, mostly to avoid having to talk again for a few moments. Though that meant he became all too aware of Maureen watching him. She didn't look harsh at all, but she did raise an eyebrow at his answer.

She hummed, “So he's got to you as well, has he? I'm not going to stop him from doing whatever he wants, but I do wish he wouldn't insist on these weird nicknames. Honestly, who names a group of kids-”

“'e gets it, Mum.”

Badger almost jumped out of his skin to hear that voice. Then he turned to look back at the door so quickly that he almost spilled milk from his glass. On any other day he'd have been stammering apologies at that, but right now he was too focused on the person stood in front of them.

Crow.

It was hard to say if Badger felt better or worse to see him. So instead he made himself focus on how different Crow looked right now. Gone were the scruffy cap and scarf that he wore almost everywhere. Without them Crow appeared slightly more exposed and vulnerable, though mostly he seemed a lot more like... well, just like some kid. You'd never guess he was the mastermind behind a black market if you saw him right now.

“His Highness returns,” Maureen scoffed, “Well let me tell you something, Badger. Don't let our Thomas boss you around. He might put on a haughty act, but he's a big softie underne-”

“Mum, please!” protested Crow, “An' I keep tellin' ya that it's Crow now, not Thomas. Look, Badge' an' me need to talk, so if ya could maybe... well, give us a moment.”

The way the two stared stubbornly at one another, Badger could tell that they were related. The moment was soon gone though, as Maureen shrugged her shoulders and headed out of the kitchen.

“I'll be in the living room if you need me,” she said, more to Badger than Crow, “Just give me a shout if you want any more grub cooked up, okay?”

Badger nodded; “Th-thanks...”

Once she was gone, Crow pulled up one of the other seats and plonked himself down onto it. He gave a heavy sigh and looked over at Badger.

“I know ya don't eat much, but Mum'll only fuss if ya don't 'ave some o' it,” he instructed. This prompted Badger to take a small nibble out of the nearest crumpet, so Crow continued to talk as he ate, “Look, I'm... I'm sorry about everythin'. I know that too much 'as 'appened for me to propahly apologise for, but I'm gonna try to make things up. Wot ya said really made me see 'ow bad I've bin to all o' ya...”

“Doun't worry about that, I were being 'arsh 'cause I were angry,” assured Badger, after he'd quickly swallowed a big lump of crumpet, “I didn't mean t' say those things.”

“Whethah ya meant 'em or not, ya were right,” Crow insisted, “I was only thinkin' that we should be Black Ravens forevah. Not that maybe the rest o' ya didn't want that...”

Although he didn't know where the sudden burst of confidence came from, Badger leaned across and put a hand on Crow's arm. Just touching Crow made him nervous, but he felt better to see that the leader didn't try to push him away at all.

“We all want t' be Black Ravens,” Badger promised, “And Gus says we always will be anyway, no matteh 'ow far apart we are. But life 'appens, Crowlo. Even you've changed in the last few months.”

“Yeah... I 'ave,” agreed Crow, “An' I'm sorry that ya couldn't meet Umid on bettah terms... I wanted to get 'im to come up 'ere to meet all o' ya.”

“Then bring 'im up,” pressed Badger.

“Maybe another time. But not now. An' not for a while, I don't think,” Crow mused, “There's too much to do up 'ere first.”

Part of Badger wanted to press the matter. He still didn't know very much about Crow and Umid's relationship or what agreements they might have reached when Crow came back to Misthallery. Even if he should know that it was none of his business, part of him felt as if it was. Somehow he felt entitled to know.

But ultimately, it wasn't his place to ask. So he simply nodded again.

“Yeah...”

Fortunately, Crow didn't need much prompting to carry on with the talk; “I guess I should fill ya in on wot 'appened. Umid an' me found ya passed out. Don't think I've evah bin so worried in all my life! We were gonna take ya back to the Weathered Duke, but we both... kinda agreed that might not be for the best. So we called the othahs an' sorted it out to take ya back up 'ere. Umid stayed in London, o' course, an' the othahs were all waitin' for ya when we got back. Aftah that we thought it'd be best to bring ya 'ere. Ya slept all o' yestahday an'... well, 'ere we are now.”

Crow took a break in the explanation to help himself to one of the fried eggs, so Badger cut in, “I'm glad yer brought me back, but I've got t' ask – why did yer bring me 'ere instead of me own 'ouse?”

On the inside, Badger was very glad this had been the case. He didn't want his friends to get involved with his dad as much as possible and he could hardly imagine how badly his dad would have flown off the handle if some local kids had turned up at his door with an unconscious Simon. Maybe that was why Crow had decided not to go there. All the same though, Crow was known to keep his home life away from the Black Ravens just as much as Badger was – very few of them had even seen his mum before. Which was why Badger had no idea who she was or where this place might have been.

A troubled look crossed Crow's face. It seemed that avoiding Badger's dad hadn't been the only problem. It took the stout boy a few moments more to put what he said next into words.

“Ya dad... well, he ain't... at 'ome any more...”

Badger shot up out of the seat. His chair scraped backwards noisily and some of the plates on the table jangled at the sudden movement. Crow had to jump up out of his own chair to keep Badger calm. He grasped onto his northern friend's arms and Badger wished that he was in a better position to appreciate this. But right now he was only focused on one thing.

“What's 'appened to me dad?” he demanded. It took his best efforts to stop himself from bolting out of the door.

“Look, I dunno the full story,” Crow explained, “I've 'eard most o' it from Mum, but it sounds like a lotta grown-up stuff.”

“Tell me, Crow!” growled Badger.

“Okay, I'll tell ya wot I know,” promised Crow, “Aftah ya left, it seems ya dad went out lookin' for ya. Only 'e wandahed the streets for so long that people finally started to see 'ow ill 'e was...”

“Oh no... no no no...” Badger choked back sobs. His eyes had already started to well-up with tears. That was exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen.

“I think 'e got into a fight with the police,” admitted Crow, though he seemed reluctant to tell Badger that upon seeing how badly he'd reacted to the story so far, “But when they took 'im to the station, they saw that 'e needed 'elp. They ain't bad people in Mist'allery, Badge'. I know it seems like they are sometimes, but they ain't. So they took 'im to... some kinda 'ospital. Mum wouldn't tell me much about it. They dunno that ya 'ere though, but I promise we'll look aftah ya 'til this all blows ovah.”

“This isn't gonna just blow oveh...” Badger cried.

He reached down and hugged Crow tightly, howling into his friend's shoulder. How could all this have happened? It had only been a few days! It shouldn't be possible for so much to change and go wrong in such a short space of time!

Amidst his wailing, Badger heard the gentle creak of a floorboard. It seemed that Maureen was listening from outside. Though she thankfully decided not to come through. Badger didn't think he could deal with anyone right now, not even nice people who were related to Crow.

A few minutes went by with just crying and hugging, until eventually the tears ran out and made way for silent, sniffing sobs. Crow began to rock Badger from side to side. It almost felt unreal, but it was just what Badger needed in that moment.

They stayed like that for a little longer before Crow braved talking again; “Ya will be allowed to go see 'im, when ya feelin' up to it...”

“I will go and see 'im,” Badger agreed, a shaky-yet-firm resolve to his tone, “Not right now, but when all this 'as settled. It might do us both good, t' be with people who can 'elp us.” As much as Badger hated to admit it, him and his dad hadn't done the best job of helping each other in the years since his mam had died; “But yer gonneh come with me, Crow. T' make up fer all this stuff yer've done. When I'm ready, yer've got t' drop everything and come with me to see me dad, ah'reet?”

Crow smiled up at him.

“O' course, Badge'. Anythin' for ya, Badge',” he vowed.

“G-good...!” Badger concluded, he tried to keep his nerves out of his voice. It probably wasn't working. Badger was no good at being bossy; “But reet now I want t' go see everyone else – all the other Black Ravens. Except W-wren and Socket, since... since they're not 'ere...”

“I'd be surprised if they ain't waitin' outside the door for ya,” Crow predicted, “It's taken away all the mysteriousness o' my 'ouse, 'avin' my mates 'angin' around out the front.”

“I doun't know why yer keep this place a secret anyway. Yer mam is well nice, everyone would like 'er. Or are yer just worried that they'll see yer mucky room?” Badger checked. He still felt sad, but being able to talk to Crow like this had let a ray of happiness shine through. As if, even after all this, they could be a little bit normal somehow.

“Don't start or I'll nevah 'ear the end o' it,” warned Crow. His eyes darted to where Maureen was stood in the corridor, “Now come on, let's go meet the othahs.”

There were no objections from Badger as Crow let go and led him outside. He gave a sheepish smile to Maureen as they went by, which she returned fondly. Part of him felt guilty for not having got through more of the food she'd made, but she seemed to understand. Seeing the Black Ravens was important right now. Even though it had only been a few days, to Badger it felt like forever.

And sure enough, Crow had been right. Once they got out onto the cobbled street of the market, a bunch of people who'd been lurking nearby rushed over to greet them. Louis, Gus, Marilyn, Roddy and Scraps – the remaining Black Ravens, now rejoined by Badger and Crow. Each of them started talking at once and even if no one could tell what anyone else was saying, it was still a good feeling. They all hugged and nattered and even cried a bit – despite Badger having thought he'd already run out of tears for the day.

If they had simply stayed like that then Badger would have been happy. He'd remember this moment for the rest of his life – feeling like he'd lost everything, only to be reunited with his friends. How could he ever have thought they would forget about him or didn't care about him...?

As it stood, their reunion on the cobbles lasted until Louis made a comment that he could smell food from inside. Which prompted Roddy to say that he wouldn't mind a bite to eat. Naturally, Crow protested that they weren't allowed to come in his house and bother his mum, but Maureen took that cue to pop her head around the door and say that she wouldn't mind at all – the more the merrier!

So the lot of them trudged inside to finish off the large breakfast that Badger had been unable to make a dent in. It looked like all that food wouldn't go to waste after all.

And sat at that table, surrounded by friends, Badger could push all of the other worries to the back of his mind for just a little while.

Badger was home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having a brief time to rest, it seems that some of the Black Ravens are on the move again. Though not all in the same direction...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the start of Act Two! There'll be more focus on Misthallery and the black market in this act. As well as a certain set of siblings who live in a manor at the top of the hill showing up at some point.

Although Badger wasn't sure that time was as good of a healer as people made it out to be, he had to admit that putting a month between what happened in London and now had been helpful. At least it meant that he could look at everything more objectively, if nothing else.

He still had trouble believing that it had all happened over only a few days. Crow getting back from his mysterious holiday, their trip up north to find Wren & Socket, the unplanned visit to London, finding out about... about Crow & Umid, passing out in a cold street at night and finally being brought back to Misthallery – it all felt like it had drained much longer from Badger.

And although since then his days had been mostly uneventful, they were also far from without change. Especially given that he'd been staying with Crow and his mum the whole time since he'd gotten back. Part of Badger was worried that if they got found out, Maureen could get into a lot of trouble. But one thing life had taught him was that people would generally keep their heads down when it came to what strange market families were doing. So far no one outside of their immediate circle of friends had said anything about Badger's new living situation.

It was also kind of nice to get to know Maureen, after years of her being kept a mystery from them all by Crow. She'd taken to Badger right away and while she was very brash, Badger found her easy to get along with as well. On top of that, he had to admit it was oddly nice to see someone who'd frequently knock Crow off his high horse.

Speaking of Crow, he hadn't been doing the best he could have been lately...

“All right, Badger?”

His thoughts were interrupted by a call from down below. When Badger turned to see, he found that Louis was already climbing the steps up to the lookout.

“Y-yeah,” Badger answered, as Louis got to the top, “What about yer? Doun't often see Lozza up at this time in the morning.”

Louis chuckled, but Badger could tell it was evasive; “Can't I come and check up on you when I feel like it?”

“If yer want. Though there's nowt going on 'ere,” Badger assured him.

“Nah, none of us have had as much to do since Crow cut the auctions down to once a week,” agreed Louis, “I think he has the right idea, though. We were all a bit shaken after he left for London. It's gonna take a while until we're back in the shape we were before. Especially without Wren and Socket's help. And also without... well, um, I mean, how is Crow doing lately anyway? You see him more than any of us.”

While Badger knew there was something else Louis was hiding, he wouldn't get any answers by outright asking about it. Since Louis was one of the biggest gossips in Misthallery, he would tell Badger exactly what was on his mind soon enough. It just took some talking in circles to trick him into to doing it.

“I think 'e's seen betteh days,” Badger answered. There was no point in beating around the bush with it; “Losing those two was 'ard on 'im and I reckon 'e's still trying t' find that fire 'e lost. But... um, 'e did come with me to see me dad a few days ago...”

“That's great!” chimed Louis, “I hope that the old man is getting better.”

“Seems to be,” Badger mumbled. 

He still didn't feel all that comfortable talking about his dad, even with a good friend like Louis. But it was nice to know his dad was around people who could help him. Badger just wished they weren't the sort of people who asked lots of probing questions. If Crow hadn't been by his side, then Badger probably would have clammed up entirely when the doctors started talking to him and that would have only made the situation worse.

It seemed that Louis could tell this wasn't a subject Badger wanted to pursue, so he changed tact; “Anyway, do you know what Crow and Marilyn are chatting about?”

“Hmm?” prompted Badger. This was the first he was hearing about it.

“I'll take that as a no,” sighed Louis, “It's been driving me well batty. Usually Mal will let me know any juicy secrets before anyone, but this morning she went off with Crow as if whatever it was could only be fit for his ears. It's not fair, innit?”

“Must be summit private,” dismissed Badger, who didn't quite have the ear for gossip that Louis did. Other people's business didn't matter to Badger, unless it had something to do with him. As much as they both did have a lot to do with him, he knew that didn't mean he was entitled to know all of their businesses.

And that wouldn't be the only subject Crow's had his lips sealed about, either...

“I'll find out,” Louis vowed, “There's no way Mal can keep something from me forever. Just you wait, I'll be back here telling you what's what sooner than you think.”

“If you say so,” hummed Badger.

There was a pause and Badger could tell that it was uncomfortable on Louis's part. Given that Badger was the master of awkward silences, he could spot them from other people almost as well as he created them himself. It seemed as if Louis had exhausted any topics he had prepared to put off talking about whatever it was he had really come here to say.

After Badger had left him to his thoughts for a while longer, Louis finally cracked; “I might not be able to come back here and tell you though...”

“Oh? Why's that?” asked Badger, raising an eyebrow under his mess of hair.

“Because... well, aarrgghh, you're the first person I'm telling this. I can only imagine how the others are gonna take it,” groaned Louis. He ran his hand through his hair as he carried on, “But... um, this isn't like Wren & Socket, okay? Don't take it that way.”

“Are yer moving?” Badger checked.

“Not forever, no,” Louis answered, “But we are going back to Liverpool for a while. We've all been talking and we've agreed that being out here hasn't helped dad's habits at all. So we thought that going home, being away from it all for a bit, might do him some good.”

The subject of Mr. Shackwell was one that the Black Ravens skirted around as often as they could. It was unfortunate for them all. Because ever since they'd started the auctions, Louis's dad had been one of their best customers. This was far from a good thing. Shackwell would spend the little money Louis's family had on worthless trinkets at the black market. Most of that money would go back to Louis, but it didn't help his family to have his dad doing this instead of looking for work and it didn't help the Black Ravens to have to lose money they could have earned from genuine customers. Badger had assumed that the auctions slowing down might have helped Louis's family, but apparently this wasn't the case.

“I'm sorreh t' 'ear that,” mumbled Badger, “Couldn't yer stay 'ere yourself? Yer old enough.”

“I did think about it,” Louis admitted, “I reckon that Roddy would put me up in his spare room if I begged him. But then I thought that maybe this would be good for me too. Our little trip to Chillingham reminded me of how much I missed it up north. So maybe it'd be better to get away while we're having a slow season. That way I can come back refreshed and ready to help properly once we're on the go again. Now if only I could figure out a good way to drop the news to Crow...”

“Doun't let ol' Crowlo put yer off,” insisted Badger, “If 'e starts to 'ave a wobbleh oveh it then I'll sort 'im out.”

Louis chuckled, “Check out you, getting all confident all of a sudden. I feel much better knowing I've got Badger to protect me from the big, bad Crow.”

Now Badger joined him in his laughing. They would have kept it up for a while longer, if not for sighting Crow and Mariln walking past. It seemed that the two of them were done with whatever they'd been talking about earlier, which was clearly all the cue Louis needed to go pester them about it. Badger followed along behind, since he was at least a bit curious at this point.

“There's the face I wanna see,” Crow called, as they came close, “Not yours, Louis. Ya can take that mug elsewhere.”

“I know when I'm not wanted,” Louis huffed.

“We should just let them talk,” instructed Marilyn. She took Louis's arm to lead him away and Badger was certain that she was going to tell him what they'd been talking about anyway. It would be unusual for those two not to know everything that the other did.

“Um, I'll see yer both lateh,” said Badger. In truth he'd wanted to talk a bit more to Louis about him leaving, but he also couldn't ignore whatever Crow so pressingly wanted to say to him.

“Yeah. And Badger? Don't worry about anything,” Louis replied, “Whatever happens, it'll be all right.”

Crow frowned at that; “Somethin' I need to know about?” he asked, as the other two disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

“Wouldn't be me place t' tell yer,” assured Badger.

“If ya say so... I do 'ave some news of my own for ya though,” Crow pressed on, “It's about Wren an' Socks.”

“They doing ah'reet?” checked Badger.

“Bettah than evah! Which is the reason Wren wrote to Marilyn askin' if any o' us wanna go stay up there for a while,” Crow informed, “It seems that their mum doesn't know about... eh, our surprise visit. An' she reckons that 'avin' some o' their friends up might be good for 'em both.”

“That's great news!” cheered Badger.

“It is for us,” agreed Crow, “Not so much for Mal, since she still needs to look aftah 'er parents' stall. But I think Wren might've expected that when she wrote. Any o' the rest o' us are welcome to go, she said, an' I've already decided that I'm goin'. So I wanted to ask if ya wanna come as well...?”

“If yer going then so am I,” promised Badger.

Only after saying that did he realise how it might sound. He recoiled a little in embarrassment, but Crow didn't seem to mind. It was still weird for Badger to know that Crow now knew of his feelings for him. But to the leader's credit, he hadn't brought it up since Badger's outburst. Which Badger partly felt was for the best, given that he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it yet. Nor the inevitable rejection that would follow, on account of Crow's own situation.

Umid was another topic Crow had been entirely silent about this last month. Now that was something Badger wished he knew more about...

“I 'oped ya'd say that,” confessed Crow, “But wot about ya dad...?”

“Um, I'll let 'im know I'll be away fer a while,” Badger awkwardly answered, “At least this time I can be sure there's people there t' look afteh 'im.”

“Good to 'ear. An' Marilyn said she'd ask the othahs if they wanna come,” Crow told him, “That's probably wot she was gonna talk with Louis about. We just need to wait 'til tomorrow to find out everyone's answahs.”

It felt weird for Badger to hear this, because he knew that this holiday probably wasn't what Marilyn would end up talking about with Louis. But as much as he didn't want to keep secrets from Crow, it also wasn't Badger's place to tell him Louis's business. Clearly Louis wanted to talk this through with the leader himself. Badger was just honoured that he was the first to know the news, even before Marilyn did.

The rest of the day was spent mostly waiting for tomorrow, to receive news of what was going on. In this time, Badger made his way around the market, chatting aimlessly with his friends when they weren't busy. At one point he did see Louis head down the manhole with Crow and Roddy, so he knew to steer clear of that place for a while. During which point, Gus gave the game away about something else.

“I'm not going with you this time,” he replied, when Badger asked about the trip, “Marilyn said it might be best if just you and Crow- ...um, I-I mean... would you like a sherbet dip? I've got an extra one.”

It didn't take a genius to work out what Gus was going to say. And while Badger had no idea what Marilyn might have hoped to achieve by sending just Crow and Badger away, he had to admit that he was privately glad that it would just be the two of them. Last time they'd talked to Wren & Socket it had gotten all muddled and angry. Hopefully things might work out better with less people around and no one wanting to argue.

So once the next day arrived and Crow was passing on the news, Badger had to act surprised. Although it seemed he didn't do a fantastic job of this.

“Ya don't 'afta pretend ya didn't know about Louis,” scoffed Crow, “'e already told me that 'e let ya know first. Must be a northern thing, the two o' ya stickin' togethah like that.”

“If yer say so. But, um, 'ow are yer taking it...?” Badger checked.

“Bettah than I might 'ave done before,” admitted Crow, “I know 'e's comin' back. An' I know that 'is family need this. I think 'earin' it aftah decidin' to go see the othah two 'elped as well.”

“Yeah,” hummed Badger.

He assumed that this was pure luck on Louis's part. Had the scouser told Crow about his plans before Marilyn had got there with her letter, then things might have gone differently. There wasn't much point in worrying about that now though.

“The next bit came as a surprise to me,” Crow went on, “Ya might already know this, but it seems as if none o' the othahs can come with us to Chillin'am. It's a right shame, since they might not get anothah chance like this for a while, but I guess bad timin' can't be 'elped. It's just gonna be you an' me, Badge'.”

“S-sounds ah'reet to me,” mumbled Badger, hoping his face hadn't turned bright red, “What about yer mam though?”

“Mum knows I'm a restless travellah now. She can't stop me when the road calls,” insisted Crow. If Maureen had been there then Badger was sure she'd be snorting loudly at that comment. Crow had been away from Misthallery all of twice.

“That and I bet she wouldn't mind a chance to clean yer room,” prompted Badger, grinning.

“She wouldn't!” squawked Crow.

“Leave it off, Crowlo. We're not cancelling our trip just because yer doun't want yer mam spoaching undeh yer bed,” Badger scolded, though he couldn't stop himself from laughing at the same time.

“I guess ya right...” mumbled Crow, “Though I swear the two o' ya are both against me some days.”

“Can't prove owt about that, can yer?” teased Badger.

“Nah, but it does give me somethin' to whine about,” Crow concluded, “Now let's go get ready. I want us both to be propah prepared for the journey this time.”

That was a matter Badger could most definitely agree on. It would be nice to go to see the siblings knowing that this time everyone was going to be on good terms and it was all planned. No trekking through the country without being sure exactly where it was they were going, either. This time, even if they couldn't get a lift from the train station, they would know the route. And they'd know there'd be two friends waiting for them at the end of it as well.

As much as Crow might not have left on the best terms with them last time, Badger was sure that the leader could talk his way through an apology. Crow admitting he was wrong was a rarity that would probably be satisfying enough for Socket at least. And Wren was mature enough to be able to know he wasn't in the right frame of mind last time, to say the least.

It was going to be fine. There was nothing to dread this time. As much as not knowing exactly what was to come generally upset Badger, this time the knowledge that Crow was by his side comforted him instead of unnerved him.

Everything was going to be all right.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badger goes with Crow to see Wren and Socket for the first time since their less-than-successful rescue attempt. But the comfort of a more relaxed visit doesn't go without its share of home truths creating worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Outside of his obvious exaggerations, a lot of what Socket says about Chillingham in this chapter is true. When doing research for this fic, I was surprised to discover that the Chillingham cattle even have their own Wikipedia page. And here was me thinking they were one of those weird, local quirks that no one else cared about.

Their journey to Northumberland happened at a much more leisurely pace than the previous one had done. Badger was glad that they didn't have to sneak about this time and could talk it through openly with their families.

For Crow's part, this was easy enough. Maureen seemed completely all right with her son going out to see the world once again, mostly just fussing that they'd have everything they needed. Badger supposed that for Crow to have gone on a two month holiday to London without causing any drama between them, that she must be very open and trusting towards him.

It was less of a breeze on Badger's part, though he did feel better to be able to tell his dad he was leaving this time. He'd gone to the hospital with Crow, who had stuck to that particular promise every time Badger had asked. Once there, Crow had sat watchfully in the corner while Badger explained to his dad that he was going away for a while, but he would come back. Part of Badger felt as if his dad didn't believe him about the coming back part, but they both knew he was powerless to stop him even so.

The thought that one day he really could leave for good without his dad holding him back was somehow kind of terrifying. Badger shelved that notion until he was ready to deal with it. Which probably wouldn't be for a while yet.

With everyone informed of the trip, all that was left was to get ready for the day they'd arranged to meet up with Wren and Socket. They had to leave on a very early train to get there on time, but even so there was a small audience seeing them off. Marilyn, Gus, Scraps, Louis, Roddy and even Maureen were there waiting, all smiles and words of encouragement. Or mostly all smiles. Roddy might have been grumbling about the early start, but Badger could tell he was sad to see them go.

After that, all that was left was for Badger and Crow to wait until the long train journey was over. At first Badger quietly felt a little nervous, given that the last train journey he remembered taking with Crow saw the leader sullen and not talkative (technically the last train journey they'd shared was the one where Badger was unconscious, but thinking about that just embarrassed him...). However, that couldn't be further from the case now. They chatted together cheerfully, as if none of that other stuff had even happened. Seeing Crow like this helped Badger feel more comfortable about the whole thing. If not for that fact they were visiting two Black Ravens who'd moved away, Badger could almost trick himself into forgetting there'd been any changes at all and assume that this was just the usual for them both.

Maybe it still could be the usual for them both...

Eventually the train pulled up in the quiet country station and the two of them hopped off to be greeted by Wren, Socket and their mum. Before any of them could say anything, Socket marched over to Crow and glared at him.

“Well...?” he demanded.

Crow backed off a little, but grinned and replied, “I'm sorry for wot I said to ya both last time. I was bein' a tool an' not thinkin' right. But I know now that this is wot's best for ya both an' I wanna support ya as best I can.”

“Wren, what's he talking about?”

That question came from their mum, who looked completely baffled at Socket confronting Crow. Of course, if she doesn't know anything about their surprise visit then this conversation would seem baseless to her. Fortunately, Wren is quicker on the uptake than her brother is.

“He means before we left,” she assured, “Eh, and before Crow went away as well. They had a bit of a fallout, but it's all sorted now.”

“If you say so,” murmured their mum, though it seemed she wasn't entirely convinced, “Let's get your bags to the car, boys. It's a bit of a walk from the station, but we'll give you a hand.”

Socket tried to demonstrate his strength by grabbing one of Badger's bags, but it proved too heavy for him.

“Bloody 'eck, wot do ya 'ave in 'ere, bricks?” grumbled Socket, staring at the bag as if it had caused him personal offence.

“Crow's mam wanted t' make sure we 'ad everything,” Badger explained.

“You actually got to meet Crow's mum?” Wren cut in, “A lot must have changed since we left.”

“It ain't a big deal,” Crow moodily answered, as he picked up his own bag.

With a bit more idle chat, they then made their way to the car. They had to be guarded about what they said, so the siblings' mum wouldn't pick up on anything being amiss, but it turned out they all had a lot more to talk about than just what had happened back then. As they drove through the country, passing by many small villages, Socket kept pointing out different places and saying that they'd have to go there sometime. It sounded as if he'd had plenty of chances to explore. Badger thought to himself that he was just happy not to have to walk the whole way to Chillingham this time. The trip went by a lot quicker by car.

“You lot go get yourselves settled,” insisted their mum, once they'd got to the house, “I'll bring you up something to drink later.”

“Thanks Ms. Turner!” cheered Crow, he gave her a thumbs up and she chuckled as she left. Crow seemed to have a way with making people's mums like him, Badger mused.

“So tell us then!” pressed Socket, once the four of them were alone in their bedroom, “Wot 'appened to youse when Crow stormed off?”

“I didn't stor- ...okay, maybe I did,” Crow confessed, “But... well, aftah that we got back on the train to Mist'allery, only...”

“...Only Sir Sulks-a-Lot 'ere didn't go to Mist'allereh, did yer?” continued Badger, “Louis and Gus got off there, but Crowlo dragged me all the way t' London.”

“London!” Socket gasped, “Wot'd ya go there for?”

“That was where I went when I was away while ya moved 'ouse,” Crow told them, “I just... needed to clear my 'ead. But while we were there...”

“Everything went ah'reet,” Badger corrected, surprised at himself for interrupting a second time. When he could see Wren looking at him doubtfully, he clarified, “There were a bit of fuss, but we sorted it out.”

He wasn't sure why he felt the need to stop Crow from giving them the full details, but Crow didn't seem to object to this either. Ever since they'd gotten back to Misthallery, Crow hadn't talked more than he needed to about London or Umid, leaving Badger to assume that it wasn't up for discussion. Now that he thought about it, Badger couldn't predict how Wren or Socket would take the news about Umid, especially given that Wren might still have a crush on Crow herself.

Their explanation seemed to satisfy them both anyway, given that Socket was clearly bursting to tell them about how everything had gone for their family since moving up here.

“Okay, so now that Crow's got 'is mood out of the way,” Socket started. Crow didn't seem to mind this comment either, “We can tell youse all about 'ow amazin' it's bin 'ere! I thought it'd be well borin', out in some village where we don't know anyone. But there are actually about a million other villages nearby an' each one 'as it's own weird thing that makes it cool. Ours has this 'aunted castle with a massive skull from ancient times in it! An' also all o' these cows that are propah special 'cause they're so rare. They're wild though, so sometimes if ya go up to 'em they'll chase ya!”

“If you ever got caught by one, mum would kill you. Assuming that the cattle didn't first,” Wren scolded.

“So 'e's tellin' the truth about all this?” Crow asked Wren.

“O' course I'm tellin' the truth! Honestly, I dunno why ya don't trust me, I ain't a kid any more,” whined Socket, “We'll even show youse the cows an' the spooky castle while ya 'ere.”

“That sounds good,” agreed Crow, “But wot about the two o' ya needin' to go to school?”

“It's half term right now,” Wren replied, “We wouldn't invite you up at any old time. So we wait until we knew we had a week off to spend some time together.”

“It's just a shame all the Black Ravens couldn't come...” Socket mumbled.

“Maybe next time,” Crow reasoned, although Badger felt this was a bit of an empty promise, given the situation with Louis, “But for now ya got the two o' us to entertain.”

“Carrotnose is easy to look aftah,” dismissed Socket, “It's just you 'oo gets bored easily, Crow.”

“Show me a real ghost an' I promise I won't be bored,” Crow laughed.

“I will! I'll show ya maybe twenty ghosts an' then ya won't be laughin',” huffed Socket.

Wren stepped in at this point; “Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We can go to see the castle tomorrow if you want. Though we'll have to go during the day, so I'm not sure we'll find any ghosts. I've heard you only see them on the night tour and only rich people can afford to go on that.”

“Sounds like a good scam,” hummed Crow. He sounded worryingly impressed.

“It ain't a scam, it's all real,” Socket grumbled, “I really 'ope a ghost comes an' scares ya where ya sittin'.”

“Maybe not a ghost, but I hear someone coming,” observed Wren, “Sounds like mum with the drinks. And she's brought Phant with her.”

The Turner family's pale white dog was close enough to a ghost for Badger's taste, albeit an excitable one. She bounded into the room, clearly happy to see some of her old friends again, going from one person to the next to lick their faces.

“Leave it off, Phant!” Crow chuckled, covering his eyes as she came over to him.

“She's just 'appy to see ya,” Socket said, as he took a drink from the tray their mum had brought, “I bet Wrenny would love to lick ya face as well if she wasn't so shy.”

“Socket!” screeched Wren, clearly mortified, “Mum, tell him!”

“Don't tease your sister,” Ms. Turner warned.

“But I'm only tellin' it like it is,” insisted Socket. His defiance would have been more admirable if he didn't wither under their combined glares only a moment later.

“Nevah mind about that,” Crow deflected. He looked as if he felt awkward, but would rather steer away from the subject; “Tell me more about 'ow these castle people get rich toffs to part with their money.”

It might have seemed like he was brutally acting as if making money was all he cared about, but Badger knew he was simply trying to save Wren from further embarrassment. Feigning ignorance to save face was something Crow did very well, though Badger hoped that Wren knew this as well as he did. For the rest of the day Badger couldn't stop himself from feeling sorry for her, knowing what it was like to be in her situation. It wasn't nice to have Crow discover your crush, only to then never bring it up again. But at least on Badger's part he knew why Crow wasn't interested. Poor Wren didn't know anything about Umid...

These thoughts lingered in the back of Badger's mind for the next few days. Certainly he had a good time visiting the castle (which, much to Socket's disappointment, had been free of ghosts that day) and seeing the rare cattle, but he found himself distracted by how guilty he felt about Wren's crush on Crow. Not that he himself had any reason to feel guilty, this matter was between Wren and Crow. But maybe if Wren knew that Crow was spoken for then she might be able to move on easier.

Even if that hadn't been the case for Badger, he felt that Wren was a lot less hopeless than him in most regards.

After going back and forward in his head about it for some time, Badger eventually decided to call Wren to a side to talk to her. They were all out on a walk that day. Crow and Socket were left playing with Phant down by the ford and Badger said he wanted to go to pick out some postcards at the nearby post office with Wren. Everyone knew that Badger couldn't read, so Wren would be able to help in that regard.

After the two of them had spent a few minutes choosing between various scenes of local landscapes, Badger worked up the courage to admit why he'd really wanted to come here.

“Eh, Wren... I know yer maybe doun't want t' talk about this with me, but I actualleh 'ave summit I need t' say about Crow,” he started, trying to force back the nerves inside of him.

Wren didn't meet his eyes when she replied; “This is about what Socket said, isn't it?”

“Kindeh,” Badger confessed, “But... um, I'm sorreh to 'ave t' tell yer this, a lot of us knew that yer liked 'im alreadeh.”

“Socket does have a big mouth,” sighed Wren.

“I doun't think 'e means t',” defended Badger. They all knew what Socket was harmless enough, he just sometimes got ahead of himself.

“Don't worry, I know,” Wren confirmed, “I just wish that he'd think before he opens his mouth at time. So anyway, you wanted to talk to me... about Crow?”

Neither of them actually wanted to talk about this, but Badger knew that he had to. If he didn't then Crow never would and after this week they'd go back home with Wren being none the wiser. After that, maybe she'd find someone else she likes even more than Crow or maybe she'd keep hopelessly pining after Crow, like Badger did. But if she never even knew Crow was seeing someone then she might never have a reason to move on from him. It wasn't fair to leave her tied to a teenage crush like that.

“This is... um, I'm not sure if Crow would want me t' tell yer this,” admitted Badger, “But I think it's onleh fair that yer should know. When he... when he went t' London, Crow started... uh, started seeing someone...”

How much should Badger tell Wren about Umid? He was already talking about something he shouldn't be, but somehow getting further into Crow's business felt wrong. Wren's always been a nice person, but Badger had no idea how she'd take to Crow going out with... well, another guy.

“...He has...?” Wren whispered. Her eyes had gone wide. Maybe telling her about this hadn't been a good idea after all.

“Yeah, I 'ave,” Crow confirmed.

They both turned with a start to see him standing by the post office door. It seemed that Socket and Phant were still down at the ford, which was probably for the best. Neither Badger nor Wren quite knew what to say, both stammering wordlessly. Badger just wanted the ground to swallow him up.

So Crow carried on, looking slightly hurt amidst his annoyance, “...Or rather, I did. Umid 'ad to go back to Mosinnia not long aftah we went to London. I was actually lucky we went when we did or else I might've missed 'im. But all the same, since we didn't know when 'e'd be comin' back, we agreed to call things off for now.”

Badger stared shame-faced at the cobble floor; “Crow, I 'ad no idea...”

“Yeah, but that didn't stop ya from tellin' Wren all about it,” Crow pointed out.

“Of course it didn't stop him!” snapped Wren. They both looked at her in surprise. Suddenly Badger realised just how much Crow had revealed about the person he was seeing. Though that didn't seem to be the issue Wren was concerned about; “You never talked to him about it, you never talked to me about it – I bet you've never talked to anyone about it. Because that's what you always do, Crow. You try to smooth things over by taking it all on your shoulders and keeping us in the dark. Maybe this is your business, but don't be surprised when we worry about you for not telling us anything then skulking about.”

Now it was Crow's turn to look ashamed of himself.

“I did promise Badge' I'd try 'ardah from now on...” he mumbled.

“Then talk to us. Trust us a bit. Even if you don't tell want to tell everyone about your love life, you should at least say something to Badger to stop him worrying. He worries more about you than anyone I've ever met,” Wren went on.

Badger felt his cheeks burning at that. Was he really so obvious in his devotion to Crow that Wren had seemingly picked up on it long ago?

“Yeah, ya right...” agreed Crow, “I thought that not tellin' ya stuff was protectin' ya all. Especially aftah I found out ya liked me. It made me think that it'd 'urt ya if I told ya about this.”

While it wasn't clear here if he was talking to Badger or Wren, the statement itself could apply to either of them easily enough.

Wren shook her head; “Of course it hurts. But that's just life, isn't it? Sometimes things hurt and when they're over, you need to pick yourself back up and move on. It's not the end of the world for me just because you like someone else.”

“I'm glad to 'ear that,” Crow admitted, “Ya can do way bettah than me.”

“And don't I know it,” teased Wren, “You're one of a kind, Crow, but I think you'd be too much work for me to bother with. Next time I get a crush on someone I hope they're less moody than you are.”

“So... are we good?” Crow checked. This time it was clear he was talking directly to Wren.

“Yeah, we're good,” concluded Wren, “Now you go back down to stop my brother from ruining his trousers too badly in that muddy river. I've still got a few things I need to talk to Badger about.”

“Wot about all that not keepin' secrets?” Crow reminded.

“That doesn't apply to us, since we're not the puppet-masters here,” retorted Wren, “Now off with you.”

Not seeing the room to argue, Crow gave them a shrug and then headed back off again with a wave goodbye. On the way out of the post office, Badger noticed the shopkeeper was eagerly pretending she hadn't heard anything they were saying. She must be used to dramatic teenagers talking about their love lives anyway. It was just fortunate that Wren and Socket's mum hadn't been the one at work today, since she'd booked a holiday off from the post office herself.

“Do you realleh think 'e's a puppet-masteh?” asked Badger, once Crow was out of earshot.

“I'd be more surprised if you didn't think that,” Wren countered, “But anyway, I do need to talk to you about him.”

“Go on,” prompted Badger.

“I've been writing to Marilyn ever since your last visit here,” Wren explained, “I'd wanted to start writing sooner, but the visit was as much of a prompt as I was going to get. She was the one who told me everything was more or less all right after you got back. She didn't get into great detail about where you'd been, so the London trip was news to me, but she did tell me about how restless Crow's seemed lately. And eventually we agreed to this trip to give Crow a chance to get away from home, guilt-free. Since it seemed like he'd not satisfied his desire to wander.”

“It did seem like Mal were mostly planning it,” Badger mused, now that he was thinking about it, “Gus even sorteh 'inted that she just wanted Crow and me t' go.”

“That must have been down to her decision. In my letter I said that I'd be happy if more of you wanted to come, so I was kind of surprised that it was just the two of you. But then again, Marilyn usually knows best and Crow has seemed a bit more at ease with less of us about,” Wren went on.

“Dunno if 'e realleh is though,” debated Badger, “The thing that's been worrying 'im is that the group's falling apart. We're down to one auction a week and Louis is gan back t' Liverpool soon, so who knows what like 'appen then. I think Crow's bored.”

“Maybe that's why he wants to travel so much.” Wren suggested, “And I have to admit that once you've exhausted all of the tourist traps, there's not loads more to do around here than there is in Misthallery. If you two were staying for more than a week, then I reckon he'd get fed up here as well.”

“But what do we do?” asked Badger, “How can we stop 'im getting sick of life back 'ome. None of us want t' loose 'im...”

“That's something for him to figure out for himself. Although a nod in the right direction might do him some good. All I can suggest is that if some of us are already going our own ways for different reason, maybe it won't be the worst thing in the world if Crow ends up doing the same,” said Wren. She sounded much more neutral about this than Badger felt he could be on the subject.

“But Crow love Mist'allereh and the Black Ravens,” Badger protested, “Sure, 'e might be wanting to travel more these days, but that's 'is 'ome back there. There's no way 'e could properly leave it...”

“Are you sure Crow's the one more tied to Misthallery here?” probed Wren, raising an eyebrow at how defensive Badger seemed.

He didn't want to talk about this. Because Crow's increasingly obvious desires to be elsewhere, combined with Badger's fear of the unknown were becoming a more apparent issue as time went on. Badger valued the security that he'd found in their home town, whereas Crow felt a need to challenge himself that meant he seemed to have outgrown being there. This was the problem that Badger had faced since the start. If he wanted to be with Crow (and he really did want to stay by Crow's side) it might mean having to leave what he had become accustomed to.

All this time, Badger had been trying to convince himself that Crow himself didn't want to leave Misthallery for good. If you asked him then he'd probably say as much himself. But if being kept there was making Crow feel worse about himself...

“I know Crow doesn't want the Black Ravens t' break up, that's fer definite,” Badger weakly argued.

“That's a choice that belongs to nine people, not just to Crow,” reasoned Wren, “And I hope that he's started to realise that.”

“Yeah, 'e knows that now...” mumbled Badger. For once, that didn't make him feel better.

“Then when he does make up his mind, you'll have to be ready with your choice as well. As harsh as it is to say, you can't cling to him forever,” Wren went on. She sounded sympathetic about this.

“It's been that obvious...?” Badger murmured.

“Crow was your first real friend,” explained Wren, “We all know you're close to him because of that. But if following him is hurting you...”

“It's not 'urting me,” Badger lied.

“If you're sure. Just take care of yourself, whatever happens with him. Marilyn will let me know if you don't,” Wren warned.

“I'll... d-do me best,” returned Badger. He wasn't sure what else to say.

“Oi, would youse two 'urry up!” called Socket. He was waiting with Crow and Phant some distance away from the post office. Wren later explained that he'd been temporarily banned from going in there after trailing mud through one day. He was a little scared of the shopkeeper because of that and gave the place a wide berth when passing.

“We're coming!” Wren replied, “Just let us get these postcards first!”

They paid for each of them and left without a fuss. It was clear that Crow was curious about their conversation, but Wren didn't press it any more and Badger felt his head was spinning too much to talk about it, even if he'd wanted to. Besides, it wouldn't hurt for Crow to be in the dark about something, as punishment for all the times he'd done that to them.

And while Badger didn't spend the rest of the holiday worrying about Wren, who seemed more than capable of looking after herself in regards to his feelings for Crow, he now had many other concerns to occupy his mind instead.

No one knew for sure if Crow would leave for good. Badger had his doubts that their leader was right now in a place where he'd do something that might break apart the Black Ravens like that. Nor would he want to leave his mum forever, surely.

But the fact that this prospect seemed to be more of a possibility to Badger now than it had done before was concerning. As the group chipped away at bits of themselves, were they making an opening for Crow to leave?

And if Crow did leave, what would happen to Badger?

The sensible answer seemed to be that he should stay where he felt safe. As much as he knew that he'd have no work without the Black Ravens and not even a home to go back to if he could no longer stay at Crow's house. At least not until his dad got out of hospital. And part of Badger felt as if going back to his dad at all would be a huge step backwards for him.

Out there away from Misthallery was a big, scary world that had hurt Badger before, though. The idea of facing that again, even with Crow by his side, was too much for him.

So, if the day when he'd have to make that choice was coming soon, Badger didn't at all know how he'd handle it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Louis leaving for Liverpool, it seems as if the Black Ravens are only going to further fall into their recent slump. But Badger is determined to finally make some changes that could save the group.

For the first time ever, it seemed that the postcards arrived back in Misthallery before Badger and Crow did. Everyone usually complained about the postal service and it was a running joke that people tended to get back from their holidays before postcards. But this time Badger had people running up to him, thanking him for sending one. Even when he'd pointed out that Crow was the one who'd wrote them out, they all seemed to know that Crow never would have even considered sending any without prompting. Badger was particularly embarrassed when Maureen said that she was going to frame hers and would think of them both whenever she looked at it.

All in all, Badger felt that their time away had come to an end much too quickly. It had been nice to see Wren and Socket again. Doing so in such a relaxed atmosphere had made it seem less like they were gone for good, especially with Socket making them promise that more Black Ravens would come visit soon. However, a week was still a week and before Badger knew it they were back at Misthallery.

The upside of this was that they didn't miss Louis leaving. It was a few days after getting back when all the Black Ravens gathered again, this time over the rickety bridge that led out of town, to see Louis off as his parents packed the last of their belongings into the car.

“You wouldn't believe how much stuff Mam managed to convince Dad to leave behind,” Louis admitted, “We would have had to hire an extra moving lorry if he'd taken all of the junk he'd bought from the market.”

“Oi, that ain't junk. That's quality auction goods, that is,” Crow proclaimed with a chuckle.

“Yeah, well if some of those 'quality auction goods' go missing between now and when we get back, it might not be the worst thing that could happen, “Louis hinted, “Just don't take any essentials.”

“I aim to please,” assured Crow.

“Um, when will you be coming back?” Gus asked nervously. It was something Louis hadn't been very clear about and none of them, save for possibly Marilyn, had worked up the courage to ask him. 

Louis shrugged and looked uncomfortable; “Can't say for sure, but not for a while at least. Are you all gonna be be all right without me?”

“Are you going to be all right without us would be the better question,” joked Marilyn.

“I'm as tough as they come!” retorted Louis and he flexed his skinny arms for emphasis.

“Yeah, well if things don't work out you can always come back and mooch off my family's spare room. It'd be a pain, but if you have to then we'll try not to complain too much,” Roddy offered.

“I'll deffo keep that in mind,” promised Louis, “...And Badger?”

“H-hmm?” Badger snapped to attention.

“You're gonna be the last northerner down here, with me leaving,” Louis reminded, “It's your job to look after all these soft southern pansies and make sure they don't hurt themselves, all right?”

To that, Badger just nodded sheepishly, his face going bright red. If you asked him, people like Marilyn, Crow and Roddy were all tough enough to look after themselves without needing any help from a pushover like Badger.

“I'll, um, do my best,” he hesitantly assured, “Take care up there, Lozza.”

“And don't forget to write,” Marilyn added.

Louis grinned; “I will do. Of course, chances are my social life in Liverpool is going to be so busy that I'll be partying every other night, but there's no way I'd forget my Black Raven mates. Maybe when things get settled I'll be the one hosting a visit instead of Wren and Socket.”

“Are ya sure us 'soft southern pansies' would survive up there?” teased Crow.

“I'll tell them to take it easy on you, Crowlo,” Louis assured, “Now I'd better get a move on. Don't wanna hold my parents up with my gassing.”

Despite his claim to be in a rush, Louis then went on to say his farewells to each of them individually. He took the longest with Marilyn and Gus, seeing as the three of them had built up a close bond over the years, but also spent quite a while giving Badger a bit more of his unnecessary from-one-northerner-to-another advice. Crow, Roddy and Scraps weren't forgotten either though, despite their farewells being a bit briefer.

Once it was all over, Louis gave them all a final wave and got into the car with his parents. They all stood and watched as the car pulled away, shortly followed by the lorry along behind it. In the pit of Badger's stomach he couldn't help but feel that such a well-packed trip meant that the Shackwells might not be coming back as quickly as Louis wanted to believe.

“That's one more Black Raven gone...” Crow whispered, as the others started to head off back towards the market.

Badger didn't think that Crow had intended for anyone to hear him, but lately he's gotten good at listening out for the little things Crow says. And those words in particular only served to cement more of the worries Badger had been carrying since his talk with Wren.

Did Crow really think they were falling apart?

There was no doubt that production had slowed without Wren and Socket. Many of their wares were fixed by Socket before being sold, some of them even being created entirely by him from the junk that they found. And Wren was well known as being the brains of the whole operation. Most of their plans came straight from her head. Without them it would have been a while before the black market recovered to what it was, but with that loss happening during a time when Crow had been away it seemed to make the blow even worse than it otherwise would have been.

On top of Crow's quest to get them back and Badger temporarily being out of action upon returning from London, there was the low morale of the group to deal with. The one auction a week deal had felt like Crow trying to slowly build them back up after their collective shock to the system, but it had resulted in stagnation. Misthallery just didn't seem as busy right now and without customers they couldn't run the auctions.

The loss of Louis would certainly have an effect on this as well. Because despite his being notoriously lazy, Louis was also the keenest ear for gossip and one of the best in the group at sneaking about. When he put his mind to it, Louis could get information back to Crow faster than anyone. So without his help, there'd suddenly be a lot more going on in town that would escape the Black Ravens' knowledge.

All in all, it did not look good for their future.

With this in mind, Badger couldn't help but worry that some of the others might wander in time, especially Crow. Because as much as Wren said this was a natural part of growing up, it still didn't sit well with Badger. Everything had been going so well in Misthallery before that he saw no reason for change. Part of him still couldn't imagine the town without Wren, Socket and Louis, even now that their presence there had gone. So if he then had to also lose Marilyn, Gus, Roddy, Scraps and... and Crow on top of that, he just didn't think that he could take it.

These thoughts dominated his mind in the weeks following Louis's departure. Because there wasn't much else to do in order to distract them. The single weekly auctions left him with plenty of free time left over to worry.

One such day found him in his usual spot at the top of the lookout. Although mostly he was just there because he hadn't been told to be anywhere else, as opposed to being there because there was a genuine need to keep an eye on the streets. Below the lookout Scraps was dutifully searching through the rubbish as usual. Little could deter him from his work and it wasn't unusual for Scraps and Badger to quietly get on with their tasks in the same area without talking much. The silence between them was a comfortable one.

So Badger stood and worried about Crow's restlessness coming from not having as much to do, while Scraps went about doing the work no one ever told him to do, but he continued to do anyway. At some point of watching one while thinking about the other, something clicked in Badger's head - to Scraps, the change in the group hadn't meant a change in his working habits. Even while Crow had been away, Scraps had looked for treasures in the junk, simply storing them until they were needed. If no one needed them then that didn't seem to matter to Scraps, he merely carried on. Now that Badger thought about it, even their single weekly auction might only have been possible due to the hard work Scraps was putting in.

Maybe... maybe if they all went about this like Scraps did then they could get back on track.

Badger raised his head to look around the market. There were people there, tourists even. Perhaps not many of them and certainly not the richer sort that the Black Ravens would usually extend their hand of welcome to, but they were there all the same.

In the buzz of his sudden inspiration, Badger hurried down the steps from the lookout and went over to Scraps.

“Um, found owt good today?” he asked. 

Somehow he sounded breathless, even if he hadn't been running far. His sudden appearance, combined with such a vague question caused Scraps to raise an eyebrow.

“A few things here and there,” Scraps dismissed, “Nothing exciting, but it's been a good week in general for trinkets, so it doesn't need to be.”

“So yer'd be readeh for an auction then?” checked Badger.

“I will be by the end of the week, easily,” Scraps answered, still sounding cautious about where this was going.

“But what about today? Would yer 'ave enough stuff fer if we did one today?” Badger pressed.

“I think... maybe?” Scraps replied, “It wouldn't be the fanciest of auctions though.”

“Maybe it doesn't have t' be,” allured Badger, “If we were doing smalleh auctions for reguleh folk, we could sell more things more often.”

Suddenly Scraps smiled; “I like where this is going. Never did care for those snobby rich tourists anyway. Why can't everyone else have a go, too?”

“Exactly!” chimed Badger, “I'm going t' gan ask Crowlo about it now. So keep on looking, because we might need more trinkets soon.”

“You can count on me!” promised Scraps.

“I'll see yer later then,” concluded Badger, grinning genuinely for the first time in a while.

With that he was off, dashing towards the manhole that led to their base. Badger turning up all eager definitely made Roddy look a bit confused, just like Scraps had been, but he let Badger down into the tunnel all the same. That was one of Roddy's best qualities at a time like this – he viewed everything as so much of a nuisance that he wouldn't ask tons of questions until it became unavoidable to do so.

Once Badger was down in the tunnel, he made his way to the back room behind the auction hall, practically skipping from the excitement of his genius idea. This could very well turn the Black Ravens back around. And maybe just remind Crow why he loves doing all of it so much.

Crow was indeed waiting in the back room, inspecting some of the wares for an upcoming auction like usual. He didn't seem to be that deeply into his work right now and gave Badger a cheerful wave as he came through the curtain.

“Badge', wot brings ya to my lair?” he hummed, as he put the small pocket watch he'd been looking at down on the table.

“I've... I've 'ad a great... idea,” Badger puffed, “A-about... the auctions...!”

“Well, I'm all ears about that,” prompted Crow, “Given 'ow quiet things 'ave bin lately, any ideas about 'ow to get us back on track would be 'elpful.”

“We need t' do more,” Badger instructed, “A lot more auctions. That's 'ow t' get everyone back int' the swing of things.”

Upon hearing this, a look swept across Crow's face that seemed all too much like pity. It appeared that the leader didn't want to point out the obvious to Badger and it took a few moments before he could bring himself to reply. Even then, it sounded as if he was trying to let Badger down gently.

“I'd love to do more, believe me I would,” Crow reasoned, “But the reason we 'aven't bin doin' that is 'cause there just ain't the crowds for it right now.”

For once, Badger didn't let disapproval deter him. He pressed on; “But there are the crowds! We just need t' look in the right places. Even if they doun't 'ave load of cash, there's still a lot of tourist who come 'ere all the time. If we let them int' the black market, instead of being so picky... th-then maybe we could 'ave more auctions.”

“Per'aps. But the reason we keep things so exclusive ain't only 'cause o' money,” reminded Crow, “The more people who know about us, the more people who'll talk. There's a big risk in lettin' just any old person in.”

“What's the biggeh risk though – lettin' in someone who might talk or gan on as we are now? The way I see it, if we doun't change there's a good chance that we might not last much longeh anyway, especially if more Black Ravens leave. The otheh way might be risky too, but it'll get everyone motivated again and make Mist'allereh talk about the Black Raven like it use t',” Badger challenged. He glared directly at Crow, not backing down.

His argument seemed to cause a few cracks in Crow's armour. It was plain to see that from Crow's face as he thought it over. And while Badger knew that Crow wouldn't want to do anything that might put the group in danger, he also knew that deep down their leader loved taking risks. The whole black market had been a massive risk to start with, after all. One that they'd gotten away with for so long that it had become usual and as a result had become too safe itself. They needed something to give them their edge back and Badger was almost certain that his idea was going to be it.

“Do ya think it'll be good for everyone?” Crow asked, at long last.

“I think that the way we are now is bad fer everyone,” countered Badger. Because he knew that was true, particularly for Crow himself; “I can't promise that this'll work out fer the best, but doing more auctions might be the best way t' get them all back on track and if we want t' do more auctions then we need t' expand our market t' more people.”

“Yeah, I think ya right, Badge',” Crow agreed, “I'm still not sure 'ow I feel about lettin' just anyone in, I'll admit. But if it's for the good o' everyone, then we should take a few chances. We can always test the water by 'avin' a mid-week auction an' invitin' all the tourists we normally ovahlook. Couldn't 'urt to try it once an' see where to go from there.”

“So that's a yes?” checked Badger.

“It is,” Crow confirmed, “Gather up all the othahs an' I'll give the announcement. Cor, Rod's gonna 'ave my 'ead for givin' 'im loadsa extra work to do.”

Not needing to be told twice, Badger darted away to get the rest of the Black Ravens. He was elated that Crow was going to try this out, even if it was a bit of a gamble. But Badger knew that it would work. Tourists were still tourists, at the end of the day. Maybe letting more people in would increase the chances of word about them travelling too far, but at the same time a tourist is usually gone in a week or two. It wasn't as if they were going to be letting the locals into it, outside of a few they already trusted. The whole group had learned their lesson in that regard when Mr. Shackwell had become addicted to visiting the auctions... Maybe Louis would still be here if they'd never let his dad get involved in the first place.

But no, Badger couldn't get bogged down by thoughts of what they'd done in the past. There were still six Black Ravens in Misthallery, seven if you counted Tony as their occasional honourary member (Badger might even ask Crow about getting him involved more, since they needed more hands on deck). That was more than enough people to get this show on the road.

And even if these tourists might not have as much money as their usual crowds, more auctions could only mean that they'd turn a bigger profit as time goes on.

Badger was so sure about this. And when Crow told the others they seemed mostly positive as well. Scraps was already on Badger's side from earlier, but as well as him Marilyn seemed keen for them to get back on track. Maybe that came down to how she and Wren had seemed to have been concerned about Crow lately. It was possible that she was more interested in the idea simply because it might get Crow back into the right frame of mind. Admittedly, Badger felt a bit like this was his main priority as well.

Outside of Scraps and Marilyn, Gus chimed in that he was happy to go along with what the others wanted and Roddy begrudgingly said almost the same thing, albeit with a few more grumblings of how much work it would be. 

Crow even agreed to Badger's suggestion to get Tony in on it, which surprised them all considerably. Because as much as Tony was a good friend to them all, in time his honourary membership of the Black Ravens had sort of faded away. He was a bright and eager child, but it was clear that he thought of what they did as being more of a game than anything else. And while he had been willing to put the work in, he sadly didn't seem to grasp that the auctions were an important part of the group's livelihood before being about fun and games. Maybe once upon a time it had been about making money to buy a few sweets from Aunt Taffy's stall, but eventually it progressed on from that so much it meant members like Louis, Roddy and Badger all needed to work in the black market just to make the money to get by. It was sort of a shame that Tony had joined them after that point and, as a result, seemed to get worn out by what they did very quickly. So these days they mostly just invited both him and his sister Arianna to hang out when they knew they were doing something purely for fun instead of for Black Raven work. It had been a silent agreement amongst them all, so Crow deciding that they might need to bring Tony back into the fold was unexpected, to say the least.

With the decisions made, all that was left was to prepare.

It seemed that Crow wanted to strike while the iron was hot and boldly arranged this experimental auction for the very next day. Scraps was to get all of his wares ready, Marilyn was to drum up interest by passing the word onto customers at her stall, Badger was to occasionally flit about the rooftops in the Black Raven outfit, making sure that enough people spotted him to create suspense, Gus was to help Crow with the heavy lifting down at the base, since they'd need to get a lot of larger items ready quickly for this unexpected auction, and Roddy was given the task of going to fetch Tony from the manor.

They all worked hard that day. For the first time in a while it seemed there were no thoughts about how difficult it would be without their three missing members. Because as much as they all knew that it was difficult, these were all obstacles they were going to overcome.

Badger felt his heart soar as he raced across the rooftops, ducking and diving to the sound of tourists in awe. When he stopped for a rest near the entrance of the market, he spotted Roddy returning with both Barde siblings in tow and felt good about how this was going. In that giddy moment he didn't even mind that Aunt Taffy briefly caught sight of him. As he left, he almost swore that he heard her say 'it's about time'.

Once the evening of the test auction came around the next day, it felt as if all of Misthallery was in a flutter. Or at least those in the know were. Badger had never seen the auction hall packed this full for a long time. As he peeked around the curtain, he gulped and felt glad that he wasn't the one who was going to be dealing with the crowd. Crow might like talking to large groups, but Badger couldn't think of anything worse.

“The first few are going to be a set-up,” Marilyn informed him, as he retreated further back into the store room, “Arianna's agreed to bid on some of the early items to help up everyone else's game. She won't actually be buying them and those items will just go back into our stock, but Crow thinks that it'll help.”

“Crow knows what 'e's doing,” Badger mumbled in awe.

They all knew that their leader was a born con-artist and had all of the tricks of the trade up his sleeve. And at the same, Badger was impressed that Arianna had agreed to this. Because while, for the most part, all of the Black Ravens got along well with the Barde siblings, due to them both being stubborn and sharp-tongued, Crow and Arianna had never quite seen eye to eye. It was rarely something that caused any trouble, but it did mean that the two would often avoid each other in their gatherings. Badger could only hope that this new-found desire to push the auctions once more would help everyone get along better in the long run.

“I don't doubt that he knows how to handle this,” confirmed Marilyn. It felt like there was something more to her statement, but Badger couldn't place what it might have been. At the moment he felt too caught up with the buzz of the evening to devote too much time to thinking about it.

He stayed with Marilyn to watch from the side as it all began. Sure enough, Arianna won the first item with a high bid, but after that the crowd seemed to be so worked up that there was little need to fake any more than that. Maybe they didn't have as much money as their richer customers did, but this lot made up for it in pure excitement. Badger kept tally in his head and it didn't take long before he was telling Marilyn that tonight they'd surpassed the amount of items sold in comparison to any other auction since before Crow left for London. Although that quickly became apparent anyway, by Gus checking with Scraps to see if they had any more items.

“You're all lucky that I've worked hard this week,” Scraps hummed, as he hunted through their back-up storage, “I could have told you that honest, hard working souls would make better customers than those rich snobs do. No offence, Tony.”

“Um, none taken...?” mumbled Tony, who was helping Gus gather the extra items. Badger noted that he seemed happy enough just to be here, even if Scraps's thoughtless comment threw him. Having Tony and maybe even Arianna eager to get involved was a good sign.

The evening went on. No doubt it had turned into night outside, but the underground auction hall was so cut off from the world above that it was difficult to keep track. Eventually it seemed that they'd exhausted all of their wares, save for a few items that were fancy enough to be worth saving for the more up-market auction at the end of the week.

It was at this point when Badger looked at Marilyn and proclaimed, “I-I've been doing the maths in my 'ead and... um, we've done it. We've made more moneh tonight than in any auction this year.”

“Crow's going to be thrilled to hear,” cheered Marilyn, “You tell him that when he gets back stage.”

“I will” Badger promised.

It seemed to take far too long after that for Crow, posing as the Black Raven, to bid their guests farewell. But that was probably only because Badger was so keen to pass the news onto him. He practically shook as he stood behind the curtain, occasionally peering out in anticipation. And it was hard to keep in his squeak of excitement when Crow told the audience that he looked forward to seeing them all again soon. That could only mean that Crow had adopted the idea. This had been a success!

When he came through and finally pulled off the Black Raven mask, Badger grabbed him in a tight hug.

“We did it, Crowlo! We made more moneh t'night than in any otheh auction since before yer left!” he told him, dancing them both around.

“Steady on, Badge',” chuckled Crow, “That's great to 'ear though. We'll 'afta do this more often.”

“If we have enough stock for it,” Scraps chipped in, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we went through almost everything this evening. Even some stuff we haven't been able to shift for months.”

“Then we'll get new knick-knacks. A bit of hard work never did anyone any harm,” insisted Roddy. When everyone looked at him in surprise, he grunted, “...What did I say?”

“I'm glad we're all so eager,” assured Crow. He paused for a second to let Arianna come through the curtain, since she'd had to wait until the rest of the crowd had gone before joining them, lest anyone suspect her. Once they were all gathered he continued, “It's not gonna be easy, we all know that. But I want us to push ourselves, 'cause I think that's wot's best for us. Even if sometimes we don't think we 'ave enough wares, I'm gonna arrange auctions anyway, 'cause we'll find the ware if we're pushed to. We can all do amazin' things if we try. It's just that lately we've bin in a rut. An' I want ya all to thank Badgah for the success o' tonight. Without 'im, we'd all still be mopin' around, not knowin' what to do.”

Badger had to resist the urge to hide under Crow's Black Raven cloak as the group turned to applaud him. He didn't like being the centre of attention, that was for sure, but it did feel kind of nice to be praised like this all the same.

“It were nowt...” he sheepishly murmured.

“But it was somethin',” Crow debated, “An' it's gonna keep on bein' somethin' from now on, 'cause I can tell ya all right now, the Black Ravens are back in business for propah!”

Now that was exactly what Badger had hoped to hear from Crow.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few successful auctions, the Black Ravens start to feel confident in their new routine. However, an unexpected blow might shatter the different expectations that many of them have been building up.

“I think this is all o' it,” Crow called, as he placed a porcelain figurine of an elephant into the bag he was carrying, being careful not to damage it amongst the other items already in there.

Badger had to confess that he'd never understood what Mr. Shackwell had seen in the porcelain ornaments. Or any of the other tat he'd bought at the market, for that matter. When Crow and Badger had first come here earlier that week, the knick-knacks overran every space in the living room, doing nothing more than gathering dust. There was so much packed into this single room that even the stock horde in Crow's bedroom might have been given a run for its money. And on top of that, most of the other rooms in the house all contained traces of the unfortunate purchasing habit as well. It was no wonder that Louis's family eventually saw this as so much of a problem that they had to get away from it.

“Still dunno 'ow I feel about all this...” murmured Badger. He was tying up his own bag by the door, ready to leave.

“It ain't ideal,” Crow confessed, not for the first time that week, “But Louis practically gave us permission when 'e left. I reckon 'is mum'll be glad to see the back o' this lot as well.”

“I suppose. But all this stuff 'ad t' mean summit t' Mr. Shackwell, reet?” debated Badger. It was a weak point in an argument that he knew he'd already lost, but part of him was simply searching for any reassurance Crow could give him about what they were doing.

Crow sighed; “Nothin' 'ere meant anythin' to 'im, I can promise ya that. People like Shackwell don't work that way. They want the thrill o' the auction an' they can't stand not 'avin' somethin'. But when they get wot they want, it's just a token to show that they've won. They'll just put it away an' move onto the next thing. I know 'cause... well, I'm kinda like that myself. Only I've made it work for me inna way that Shackwell couldn't.”

A nod from Badger as he processed exactly what Crow was saying. In truth he'd never thought about it like that and certainly wouldn't compare Mr. Shackwell to Crow on any level. But apparently Crow did and knew a lot more about what was going on in the man's head than Badger. Although that did raise another question.

“Um, Crowlo...? I know we doun't like t' talk about this and it's too late now anyway, but... um, why did yer let 'im keep coming t' the auctions if yer knew 'e were like that?” Badger asked, “I-if yer doun't want t' say I'll undehstand, like...”

“Nah, it's okay,” assured Crow, “I guess all o' that did 'appen before ya joined the Black Ravens, didn't it?”

“Yeah,” echoed Badger.

Although he was one of the earlier members of the group, Badger knew that Crow and Roddy had held a few small auctions to test the waters before he had joined. Back then it seemed as if the two best friends had tried out a lot of different ideas to see what would work. Ideas that the Black Ravens now took for granted. You could even still find a few of the early prototypes for the Black Raven outfit itself if you looked hard enough in the underground store room. And by the time Badger joined, Louis's dad was already a common face amongst the stalls outside of the auction room. His presence had been what had led Louis to find the group in the first place, if Badger remembered rightly.

“We all knew it wasn't the best choice we could o' made,” Crow continued. Which was putting it lightly; “Back at the start we didn't know Louis as more than just some kid whose family moved 'ere when the factory was lookin' for workahs. So when Shackwell took interest in our auctions, we 'ad no idea 'e was Louis's dad. It was just me an' Rod back then, so we took any customahs we could find.”

“Then Lozza came lookin' fer 'im,” Badger prompted. He knew that much, since by the time that happened Badger had joined the group as well. “But that doun't explain why yer kept doing it.”

“Louis's dad was already in pretty deep at that stage. I know now that it was wrong, but back then I was more concerned that 'e might put a stop to us if we suddenly banned 'im for no reason,” admitted Crow, “So Louis an' me made a deal – that the money 'is dad spent would go back to 'im, as long as 'e 'elped us. On top o' that, 'e got to make any extra money from workin' at the auctions, so it's not as if it was a bad deal, even if it was a bit undah'anded.”

“So we neveh made owt on the tat we sold t' Shackwell?” Badger checked.

“Eventually we would. Once 'is dad lost interest in the trinkets, Louis would slowly smuggle 'em back to us an' we'd just 'afta be careful 'is dad didn't see 'em back at the auctions,” explained Crow, “Back then I thought that'd 'elp the money problems we'd accidentally caused Louis's family. But it seems they were much biggah than that...”

“If it 'adn't been at the black market then 'e would of just wasted moneh somewhere else,” Badger soothed.

“Yeah, it did seem like 'e 'ad a bad problem,” agreed Crow, “I only 'ope that they can 'elp 'im get ovah it back in Livahpool.”

“So do I...” mumbled Badger, as he peered haplessly around the now much more sparse living room.

“Well, don't wanna seem insensitive, but we should get a move on,” prompted Crow, “Gotta get all this stuff ready for the auction tonight.”

“Coming,” Badger called.

He picked his bag back up and followed Crow out of the room. All the times they'd broken into the house they'd done so through a small window around the back, which they would carefully close behind them when they left. Even if they did want to create the illusion that the Shackwells' home had been robbed by opportunist burglars while they were away (although technically that was entirely true...), they didn't want anyone else to genuinely break into the house. So they'd been careful to keep all of the doors locked and the house otherwise secure, save for that one window. Badger reasoned that only a local would know about the back window anyway, so it was unlikely that anyone other than them would see it. Or see the Black Ravens' occasional visits, for that matter.

All the same, he felt better when they were back out onto the streets and making their way to the underground base. What they were doing still seemed wrong, despite having Louis's blessings to do it, but he could put it behind him easier outside of the house.

Especially since the Black Ravens had so much more to focus on amongst their business right now.

Badger's idea had been a booming success, to put it lightly. The second set of auctions during the week had attracted almost more business than they knew what to do with and had put them back on a track that Badger was starting to worry they'd never see again.

At first he'd been concerned that the existing customers from their more upmarket auctions might be offended to discover that the Black Raven had extended its hand to a lower class of buyer, but it had turned out that the opposite was the case. Crow had spun his words so that they knew the better quality merchandise was reserved for them. Their single weekly auction was a special one that made them elite. And there were few things in life that rich customers loved more than being told they were selected to be seen as a better class of people, Scraps would say. In this case Badger might have to agree with him, given how much their wealthy punters had lapped this up.

The end result was that everyone was happy. The Black Ravens were happy to be back at work for real, the rich customers were happy that they could now think of themselves as being better than the others, and all of their many, many new customers were happy to be here at all. If they weren't careful, the black market auctions might end up becoming as much of a tourist draw to Misthallery as the Golden Garden itself was.

But with all of this recent success in mind, the group had needed to work a lot harder than before to keep up their stock levels. Crow's words were that an auction should never be cancelled for fear of low stock, because that might create a bad image. They wanted everyone to think that the Black Raven had an inexhaustible supply of rare goods to generously provide the guests with. Which was all fine and well, but it was turning out to be a lot to keep up with.

As if to prove that point, Scraps almost pounced on the two of them when they did get back down to the base.

“Anything decent at Louis's house then?” he pressed.

It was unusual to see Scraps here instead of scouring the piles of junk for potential items to sell. That must mean the the turn up of new items was proving to be even lower than expected. He certainly appeared to be worried enough for this to be the case.

“Nothin' we 'aven't sold before,” replied Crow, as he put his bag down on the table, “But at least that means we'll know wot to charge for 'em when we sell this stuff again. An' maybe we can challenge ourselves to make a bettah price this time.”

“Hmm,” Scraps dismissed. He wasted no time in going through both Crow's bag and Badger's when it was put down along with the first. After a few moments of critically inspecting everything, he shook his head; “It's going to be a poor auction tonight.”

“Can't we dip into our reserve stock?” offered Crow.

“We've already emptied all that,” grumbled Scraps, “Do you think I wouldn't have done that first, before saying there's a problem?”

“I suppose so,” Crow sighed, “An' there's definitely nothin' to be found around the streets?”

Scraps grinned in an almost sinister way; “Roddy's out double-checking, much to his annoyance. But if I can't find anything then I doubt anyone else will be able to either. We're just going to have to wait a while for the piles to build back up.

“Maybe so, but I ain't cancellin' tonight's auction,” insisted Crow, “We'll make do with wot we 'ave. It just means we'll 'afta spread it out an' make a bit more o' a show outta drivin' the price up for each item.”

“I can help you with that.”

The three of them turned towards the curtains in time to see both of the Barde siblings come through. Arianna was the one who addressed Crow and seemed to regard him critically as she approached.

“Are ya sure? It's been very kind o' ya to 'elp us out so far, but if ya get fed up o' doin' it we'll completely undahstand,” reasoned Crow.

“No, it's all quite thrilling really,” Arianna assured him, “If I place lower bids earlier on it'll mean we can space out each item more. And if things start to look too abysmal, then I can swoop in with a high bid to shock them.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” murmured Crow. Although it seemed to Badger as if he had his reservations, “Just don't 'buy' too many o' the goods, since we don't get money from ya bids.”

Arianna tutted, “If you do a good enough job convincing the crowd this stuff is worth it in the first place, then I won't have to step in to save your face. It's all down to you, Crow.”

“Th-the Black Ravens are a team,” Badger cut in, “It's down t' all of us.”

“Badger's right,” piped Tony, who seemed keen not to start an argument between his friends, “As long as we all do our parts, we'll be fine.”

“Then we'd all best get ready if we want to have this auction at all,” instructed Scraps. He hadn't stepped in sooner, since petty arguments weren't something he was interested in, but cutting into work time was the line where Scraps started to care.

“Scraps is right,” agreed Crow, “If all o' ya start settin' up the 'all, then I'll go fetch Roddy, Gus an' Marilyn.”

With that he headed off, giving not so much as a backwards glance to the four of them. It made Badger nervous when tensions got like this. Because while there had so far been no real problems with having the two Bardes here, Crow and Arianna did seem to test each other's nerves. It wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine that cross words might cause problems some day and it wouldn't be good if that occurred while the Black Ravens so desperately needed their friends' help.

Though on the other hand, he might merely be worrying about nothing. Having the two of them work together like this could be just the ticket to burying any grudges between them and could help all of the group become better friends with Tony and Arianna than they were before.

Those two notions went back and forth in Badger's head as he quietly carried on with the preparations. He was so distracted by his own concerns for his friends that it felt like no time at all before they were all gathered and waiting for the customers in the auction hall to take their seats.

“Looks like a rowdy bunch tonight,” Roddy observed, after sticking his head around the curtain, “I know we've been more open about who we're letting in, but I can't help feeling that we might have gotten a bit far ahead with some of those faces.”

“If things get outta 'and then we can sort it,” promised Crow, “Unless ya scared, Rod?”

“Me? Scared? As if!” snorted Roddy, “It's you I'm worried about. You're such a little thing after all, aren't you?”

“Watch it,” Crow warned. There was a definite frown visible before he covered his face with the Black Raven mask, “I know what I'm doin'.”

“We don't doubt that,” chuckled Marilyn.

She was sat near the back, with Badger next to her. In truth, the auctions were Badger's least favourite part of being a Black Raven, given that large crowds made him nervous. Marilyn was such a confident person that being around her at times like these made him feel better, even if he did feel a bit bad that it stopped her from taking a more active role in the auctions. She would assure him that she didn't mind, but given Marilyn's expertise in handling customers at her parents' stall, Badger couldn't help but assume that she could have given even Crow a run for his money with working the crowd if she ever did get up on the stage. Whenever Badger brought this up though, Marilyn would merely smile and say that she didn't like showing off as much as Crow did.

“Thanks, glad to see that someone 'as faith in me,” concluded Crow, as he made some final adjustments to his outfit.

“Just get out there and give us a reason to,” Roddy demanded. He was grinning though, so his words were clearly in jest.

“I always do,” assured Crow.

With that, Crow made his way out into the auction hall. They all knew that their Crow was now gone until the end of the evening and would be replaced entirely by the Black Raven. It was a role he took so seriously that sometimes it felt like a transformation. After a few years of this, they'd all gotten use to it and barely even noticed any more. But it seemed as if the appeal had yet to wear off for their honourary member, Tony, who was almost glued to the curtain as he watched the Black Raven with eager eyes.

“I don't know how he does it,” proclaimed Tony, wistfully, “It's almost as if he's a different person out there.”

“He's had a long time to practise,” Gus answered.

Badger could tell that Gus was quietly quite happy that Tony seemed to have replaced him as being the most naïve member of the Black Ravens. Back in the old days, even though Socket was the youngest of them all, his mechanical skills made him swiftly become respected amongst the group. Whereas Gus, the next youngest after Socket, seemed more child-like in comparison, given his eagerness to please, love of sweets and general clumsiness. Although Badger had begun to notice changes in Gus over the last year, having a bright-eyed new member like Tony around definitely did drive home just how much Gus had changed from the kid he was before.

“You can still see the signs of Crow if you look hard enough though,” Marilyn added, “Sometimes it feels as if Crow might become the Black Raven one day.”

“Only if we let him get too far ahead of himself,” growled Roddy, who didn't seem to be too eager for that to happen.

Badger looked at Roddy and found himself suddenly reminded of their conversation from before he'd gone to Northumberland with Crow, Louis and Gus. Back then Roddy had told Badger it was down to him to look after Crow while Roddy couldn't. But did that still apply now that they were all back together? As much as Badger wanted to think that he had gotten to a place where he could be more open with Crow compared to before, it did seem to have slipped back into being Roddy who was keeping an eye on him, not Badger.

“Shh! The bidding for the first item is starting!” Tony hissed, which sharply ceased further discussion on the matter.

For a moment, Badger felt that he could now get settled until the auction was over. Now that they'd had a fair few sessions amongst the new crowds, it was clear that the plan had worked and there was less need to keep an eye on the numbers than there had been to start with. They all knew it was going to do well. So Badger would have been happy enough to sit with Marilyn at the back, occasionally helping Gus lift some of the heavier goods through, should the need arise.

But tonight he wasn't given the chance to do that.

He happened to be looking in Tony's direction in time to see all of the colour drain from the younger boy's face. In that second, it seemed that each of the others in the store room got to their feet as one and dashed over.

“Oh no...” Tony whimpered.

By the time they were level with him, it appeared that a small drama was unfolding out front. A tall, heavy-set man was looming over Arianna from within the audience and appeared to be challenging her bid.

“I saw you here last time!” the man boomed, “And the time before that! You always bid on the first thing that comes up and you spend way too much money!”

To her credit, Arianna didn't back down or even seem imposed by this person. She blinked up at him and kept her frown in place, as if he was nothing more than an ant disturbing her afternoon picnic.

“Am I not allowed to come here as often as I want and spend as much as I wish?” she challenged.

“If you're so rich, then why are you at this auction and not the other one?” questioned the man, “I bet this is a fix!”

“My regulah puntahs 'ave the right to go to whichevah auction they choose,” Crow assured, from the front of the hall, “An' I don't appreciate the accusation. Now sit down, sir, or I'll 'afta escort ya out.”

“You're not answering me because you know I'm right!” the man roared, “I could come here every time and she'd always win the first damned lot! This is a set up and if I'm made to leave, then I demand that this brat leaves with me!”

“Ya can't-” Crow started, but he wasn't quick enough on the uptake.

The enraged stranger grabbed hold of Arianna's wrist. From behind the curtain, Tony screamed so loudly that it startled most of them, combined with a few people in the nearby rows, into a state of shock.

But not Roddy. He grabbed the nearest Black Raven outfit, threw it on and charged out into the auction hall. Before Badger or even the aggressive man knew what was happening, he'd roughly prised the fingers off Arianna's wrist and shoved the man away.

“What do you think you're doing, attacking a young lady like that?” demanded Roddy, not even trying to mask his own voice with that of the Black Raven's right now, “I don't care what you think we're doing, nothing is reason enough to hurt someone!”

“I-I-I wasn't... 'attacking' her...” debated the man, “I was only... um...”

It seemed that, regardless of his intent, the crowd was against him. The whole room was filled with muttering now and those who sat close to the scene seemed to be edging away.

“No matter, I feel that ya should leave now,” insisted Crow, who seemed to have recovered from his lack of composure, “We will not extend our 'and o' welcome to ya in future. Now please remove yaself from this room, so that our good customahs can carry on with wot they came 'ere for tonight.”

“Not tonight...” Roddy protested. It felt like his voice carried over the entire hall as he spoke, “...They all go tonight. There's no auction tonight now.”

A silence passed across the room after that, as all eyes fell upon Crow. Even Roddy's gaze was fixed on the leader, Badger noted, as he looked between them both. The two figures in their Black Raven robes stared across at each other, their faces unreadable beneath the masks.

But ultimately, it was Crow's will that gave out.

“I fear that my friend is correct,” he said, addressing the auction hall at large, “Carryin' on would upset wot our good-natured auctions are known for. The Black Raven extends it's deepest apologies to our loyal customah for the distress that 'as been caused. She may come through to back room an' choose any o' the wares that we planned to sell tonight for 'er own takin'. To the rest o' ya, I also apologise an' 'ope that I will see ya again soon, at our next auction per'aps. Upon which time we will know who not to invite any longah.”

As he spoke, Roddy was already leading Arianna down the aisle towards the store room. Although she must have been shaken from what had just happened, as far Badger could tell she kept her composure well, seeming to not react at all while the crowd's eyes were upon her. It might have been a terrible thing to think, but Badger supposed that she must be used to questioning eyes being upon her from the time when Misthallery believed her to be a witch. All that negative attention must harden a strong person like Arianna towards such matters.

However, as soon as she was safely back with the others, Tony grabbed her in a tight hug and sobbed loudly into her shoulder.

“Are you all right?” he wailed, “I-I thought that guy was going to... to...”

“I'm fine,” assured Arianna, softly stroking the back of his hair, “There's no need to worry about me.” She then turned her attention to Roddy, who was pulling down the hood of his Black Raven outfit; “...Thank you for what you did back there.”

“Think nothing of it,” grumbled Roddy, as he took off the mask, “You're one of us now and we look after our own.”

Despite his dismissal, Badger couldn't help but feel that Roddy took care of them all more than he got credit for. It was no wonder that Roddy had viewed himself as being the one to catch Crow when his more risky schemes fell apart and saw that role as being so important that he needed to briefly assign it to Badger when he couldn't do so himself...

...And speaking of risky schemes falling apart, Crow pushed his way through the curtain to join them.

“That's the last o' them out through the door,” he informed, “But I don't trust 'em to get out on the streets without makin' a fuss. Gus, Scraps, if the two o' ya don't mind, could ya go an' make sure they know they're bein' watched? Just... don't get into 'arm's away while ya at it.”

“In that case, I'll go with them,” announced Roddy. He reached for the mask that he'd only just taken off, “Nothing's gonna get outta hand on my watch.”

“If, um, if ya sure,” mumbled Crow, “Though we should talk latah...”

“There's nothing to say,” Roddy growled, “I trust you to make the right decision on your own.”

With that, he left the room. Soon enough Gus and Scraps pulled on their own Black Raven outfits and followed along behind him. Once the three of them were out of sight, Crow slumped heavily onto one of the wooden crates they kept for storage.

“Tonight's been a mess...” he sighed, “I'm so sorry, Arianna, really I am.”

“It's all right, we knew the risks when we got involved in this,” Arianna replied.

“Um, I don't think I did...” gulped Tony, his eyes still wet with tears as he addressed Crow, “...I thought you were all so cool. And... and I still do, but... w-well, I don't think I want to carry on with this if Arianna's going to be in danger.”

“It's fine, Tony,” Arianna insisted.

“But it's not!” argued Tony, “That guy grabbed you and I don't even know what he was going to do to you! If he'd hurt you, after everything else you'd been through, if... if I'd lost you because of something like that then... then...”

“None of us would let that happen,” soothed Marilyn, speaking up after a prolonged silence, “You saw how fast Roddy got out there. He's like our grumpy guardian angel and I can promise you nothing bad will happen on his watch. We've been getting arrogant lately, I'm sure we can all agree on that. But we've had our wake-up call about carelessness and I'm certain that we'll all take better care in future because of it. Even so, I know how shocking tonight must have been for you both, even if you're good at not showing it, Arianna. So perhaps it would be best if you go home, get some rest and then talk about this seriously with each other. You're not tied to the Black Ravens and if either of you feel that this isn't right for you, then we won't hold you back. We're your friends first, after all.”

“Thank you, Marilyn,” concluded Arianna, with a small smile, “We'll follow your advice and get back to you all as soon as we can.”

“Take as much time as you need,” Marilyn assured, “Now, I think we should all head home for the night.”

“You lot can, but I'm gonna clear up 'ere,” informed Crow.

“Do yer need a 'and?” offered Badger.

“Nah, I think it's best all o' ya get a good night's sleep, like Mal said,” Crow dismissed. It was a polite way of saying that he needed time on his own and Badger knew that; “Just let mum know that I'll be late an' she doesn't need to wait up for me.”

“Will do...” whispered Badger, feeling a little dejected.

Marilyn put her hand on Badger's back and led him out of the room, along with the Barde siblings. The four of them made their way outside in a contemplative silence and Badger didn't doubt that Tony & Arianna were probably waiting until they were back home before they could talk openly about this evening. The two of them had been cut off from society for such a long time in the past that they must deal with some matters together better than they could with others, even now that it had been a few years since the spectre incident had been brought to an end.

As for Badger, he felt that Marilyn was the only person he wanted to talk to right now, so he was just as glad as they were when they'd waved the two of them back off towards Barde Manor.

“Think they'll be all right?” he checked, once they'd disappeared into the garden that led up to their home.

“Yeah, I doubt there's anything that'll hurt them this close to where they live,” answered Marilyn, “Besides, all of the tourists are staying at the hotel further down, so they probably wouldn't wander this far at night.”

“I suppose yer right,” agreed Badger, “...Um, Marilyn?”

“Yes, Badger?” she prompted.

“Do yer... well, think that... i-it's my fault what 'appened?” Badger pressed, letting his nerves show properly for the first time that evening.

Marilyn raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't appear to be all that shocked by the question. She'd known Badger for a long time and knew exactly how paranoid he could be in regards to blaming himself.

“Did you threaten Arianna? No. You didn't even invite the guy that did. And if you had done, well, you can't predict how he would have reacted,” Marilyn countered, “No one could have known that. Especially since he'd already been to a few auctions without any trouble. All tonight means is that we'll know for future to be better prepared.”

Badger wasn't convinced by this though; “I were the one who gave Crow the idea for expanding our auctions t' more people, though. If it weren't fer me then... then...”

“...The Black Ravens might have already ended,” finished Marilyn, “You came up with that idea because we'd lost our spark. And it's a good idea that does work. We've just had this one blip because we've been eager enough to rush into it without as much planning as we could have done. But we'll learn from this. Next time will be better.”

“Crow might not want t' do a next one,” Badger debated. He was letting all of his worries bubble up to the surface now. “'e might think it's too dangerous and go back t' onleh doing the one auction fer the rich folk. Then... then we'll fall back int' our slump and Crow might... leave...”

Marilyn stopped suddenly. She folded her arms and stared at Badger.

“What will you do if Crow leaves?” she demanded.

“I dunno...!” Badger wailed.

“Has all of this been about coming up with ideas to make sure Crow doesn't go? Have you been pushing the auctions to give him a reason to stay?” Marilyn went on.

“No! I wanted t' 'elp everyone!” cried Badger, “B-but also... yeah, a little bit...”

Getting it out in the open made the whole matter feel a lot worse to Badger. Because in truth, he had been very much concerned about finding a way to stop Crow from leaving. The fact that his solution ended up helping all of the Black Ravens simply made it easier for Badger to distract himself from what he'd been trying to do initially.

He watched as Marilyn's expression softened. She unfolded her arms and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. When she next spoke her voice was softer, but the words she said didn't worry Badger any less.

“We all know how much you care about Crow,” Marilyn promised, “But you can't keep chipping away at bits of yourself just to keep Crow whole.”

“I can't lose 'im...” whimpered Badger, before he could stop himself.

“You will if you carry on like this. And I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you need to see that there's only so much you can do to keep him here. Crow will leave one day, I'm almost certain of it. And if you keep trying to stop that from happening, you'll only hurt yourself more when it does,” Marilyn said, seeming sad to have to put it into words.

“Crow's been so 'appy with the new auctions...” mumbled Badger, “If they keep gan like this, if we can work out the problems...”

“Then it will become usual eventually,” assured Marilyn, “It's not the auctions that are the problem, it's Misthallery. Crow found his passion in life early on, but now he's mastered doing it in this small town to the point that there aren't enough challenges here for him. He could live comfortably by doing this for a long time if he wanted to and the Black Ravens could become a definite part of Misthallery's tourist trade, but Crow won't be satisfied with that. He wants to push himself further. And you can only trick him into thinking he's doing that here for so long until he realises that he's not.”

“I weren't trying t' trick him...” Badger whined, not even attempting to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes.

“No, you were trying to fix the problem, because you can't imagine a life without Crow,” Marilyn clarified, “But all you're doing is hurting yourself and none of us want you to do that, especially not Crow. So you need to come to terms with it, Badger. If you want to stay safe in Misthallery forever, then you need to accept that one day you will be without Crow. You need to become strong enough to live without Crow.”

Badger thought about everything that Crow had done for him. About how Crow had found him as an awkward loner, who was barely brave enough to say more than a few words to anyone, and moulded him into the Badger who used his skills at running and maths to help out with a team of people. Because of Crow, Badger now had a group of friends who he wasn't scared to be around. He could now see that it didn't matter so much that he couldn't read or that he was scared of strangers, because he had so many other abilities that made him Badger. He also knew that right now, without Crow, he wouldn't even have a home to go to. Not with his dad being in hospital.

No, Badger couldn't imagine a life without Crow.

But then again...

...Back when Crow had left for London, at what felt like the start of all this, Badger had been faced with the prospect of a life without Crow, even for a short amount of time. He'd decided to himself back then that he needed to become a bold new Badger, who could manage just fine without Crow. That plan had been... less than successful. He still felt as if he was the same Badger that he'd always been.

However, the idea of a new Badger made him realise that what Marilyn was telling him had already been in his mind. He'd been aware of it this whole time and everything else had just been an elaborate method of blocking it out.

Marilyn was right – if he wanted to stay in Misthallery, then he would have to prepare himself for the possibility of a life without Crow eventually.

All the same, that wasn't Badger's only option, was it?

“Y-yeah, yer right,” he stammered, as all these thoughts rushed through his head, “It's not fair on Crowlo or me or any of yer if I keep doing this.”

“Please don't be hard on yourself though, Badger,” insisted Marilyn, “Your idea for the auctions has helped us a lot. We might be able to keep going in a way we couldn't before. I just don't want to see you torn apart by whatever Crow chooses to do.”

“I promise that I woun't,” assured Badger, as he came to a grim decision in his mind, “I'll make meself readeh. And if I'm not, then I'll deal with that when I get there. But, eh, I reckon we've all 'ad a long night t'night, 'aven't we? Probably should get back before the crack of dawn, shouldn't we?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” agreed Marilyn, even if the concern hadn't yet left her voice, “I'll walk you back around to Crow's house.”

“Thanks, Mal... fer all of this,” Badger mumbled, “Dunno who else I could of talked t' about it.”

“Don't think anything of it,” hummed Marilyn, “And if you ever need any more advice, then I'm always here for you.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Badger replied.

The two of them walked the rest of the way back to the market with no more discussion of Crow after that. But Badger knew that the Black Ravens would all have a lot on their mind right now, not just him with his problems about Crow. There was Tony and Arianna, who would have to come to a decision about if they wanted to carry on with this, Crow who needed to decide how the auctions would proceed, and Roddy, who apparently trusted Crow to make the right choice regardless. With so much uncertainty, Badger imagined that all of them would be doing a great deal of fretting before the next meeting.

But for now, there was little more that any of them could do about any of it. They would regroup later, hopefully refreshed, and make their decisions from then. Until that happened, Badger would simply wait and try to put his own complications in order.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group meet again to discuss what went wrong with the last auction and Arianna brings some suggestions that might help, even in places where they hadn't considered they'd needed to change.

Badger didn't get much sleep in the few hours that followed the abandoned auction. He lay awake, thinking about everything and wondering if the others were all doing the same. Certainly it was already starting to get light outside by the time Crow returned and crawled into bed. When that happened, Badger pretended to be asleep. He didn't feel like either of them were ready to talk right now.

Even later on in the day it was unclear what Crow intended to do. He'd briefly mentioned that they all needed time to rest and that he'd arrange a meeting later on in the week, once they all got it sorted in their heads what they wanted to do.

In that time, Badgr found himself worrying a lot about the Barde siblings, who didn't turn up at the market again following the unsuccessful night. He knew that Marilyn and Gus had both gone up to talk to them though, leaving the grumbling Roddy looking after Marilyn's stall while they did. Even if he didn't know what had been said between them, Badger was certain that two people as sensitive as Marilyn and Gus are would be the best ones amongst the group for them to talk to right now. And when they returned, Marilyn informed Crow that both Arianna and Tony would attend the next meeting.

As the week went on they came closer to their staple auction for the rich buyers without any word. Because of that, Badger began to wonder if even their traditional auction would be cancelled. Which would see them without any profits for that week. In the end though, Crow did arrange for them to meet as a group the day before when it would usually be held.

They all arrived in the auction hall at their own pace, with Tony and Arianna coming in last. The two of them had much further to walk after all. Once they were seated, Crow regarded them both seriously.

“Before we get onto anythin' else, I wanna know 'ow ya feel about this,” he stated, “There's no point in me sayin' my plans if ya ain't comfortable bein' 'ere any more.”

“Then I'm sorry that I don't have a more definite answer for you,” replied Arianna, “Because Tony and myself have been unable to come to an agreement on the matter. We've talked about it seriously, but regardless of how many times we go over it we reach the same conclusion – I want to continue and Tony does not.”

“Wot... really?” gaped Crow, looking at Tony in surprise.

If anything, they'd expected it to be the other way around. Arianna was the one who had the run-in with the angry punter after all and, by contrast, Tony had always been eager to join in with the Black Ravens.

Right now he wasn't meeting Crow's gaze, staring angrily at the floor. Though when he spoke his voice was clear and certain.

“I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into,” Tony explained, “You all knew that long before I did. That's why you stopped inviting me over time and only called us both back when you really needed our help. Don't think I'm stupid enough not to realise that. But I so wanted to be part of this... It seemed magical to me. Enough so that I never stopped to think about how risky everything that you do is... I-I don't want Arianna to be put in a place where she can be hurt so easily...”

“While on my part, I don't think the danger is as bad as Tony's making it out to be,” Arianna continued, “It was a shock to all of us, but even with what happened we managed to keep it under control. I've never felt as alive as I have done these past few weeks and I don't want that to be snatched away so soon.”

Crow nodded; “Ya both 'ave good reasons to feel the ways ya do. I ain't gonna argue with either o' ya about that. But I will say this – we weren't prepared for wot 'appened. Gettin' away as lightly as we did was a fluke an' we were lucky that Rod was as quick on the draw as 'e was. But that won't be the case from now on. If we continue the auctions, there'll be more attention paid to makin' sure that the 'all is secure durin' each one. There'll be Black Ravens a stone's throw away from each part o' the room.”

“That's not good enough for me,” Tony insisted, “It's not that I don't trust you all, but I feel that I've not been doing my part. If Arianna wants to stay with you then I won't stop her, but I will sit in with her at the auctions instead of being behind the curtain with the others.”

“Tony, there's no need...” mumbled Arianna.

“This sounds like somethin' ya need to talk about amongst yaselves. No matter wot choice ya make, I'll stand by it an' make allowances,” Crow assured, “But this does bring us onto the mattah of Arianna's role in the auctions. We've bin too obvious. So much so that even that fella picked up on it. We can't carry on lettin' Arianna bid first in every auction.”

“In which case, we need to be smarter about it. But I'm not allowing myself to be muscled out when I know that what I do has been helping you,” insisted Arianna.

“Do ya 'ave any suggestions then?” Crow prompted.

“I do,” she confirmed, “And what I feel is that you don't flaunt my presence enough. Hear me out on this, Crow. You go into these experimental auctions accepting that you might make a loss. That's why you don't sell the better items there. Instead, you sell what you feel wouldn't work with the rich crowds. It doesn't matter if you make less money, because you never expected to make a lot from those goods anyway. And actually, it usually works out that the new crowd gets excited enough to bid higher anyway, so you don't need me there as much. It's no wonder that people have started to get suspicious of my bidding. I'm Arianna Barde – people know me both in Misthallery and out of it, thanks to the newspaper coverage of the Golden Garden. So because people know me, I might be more use to you in the other auctions, where you do get customers who are bidding more in my league. Why don't you use that? You can make a big deal of my being there and drive up the prices at a time when it matters. Accept that it's not the new auctions that need my help, but the old auctions that need to stop being stale.”

It felt as if she'd practised this speech in her head before coming here and Badger watched as Arianna stared at Crow with determination. In turn, he seemed to take in what she was offering with serious consideration, before he nodded his head again in agreement.

“That sounds like a good idea,” he complimented, “But if ya do wanna stay just as involved in the Black Ravens, then restrictin' ya only to the one auction a week seems unfair.”

Arianna shook her head and pressed on; “We- ...um, I can help in other ways during the times you don't have auctions. I've seen that when the back stock gets full, you barely have enough space in that little room through there to contain it. And I've been told that before the Turners left, you used Wren and Socket's garage as a workshop to repair damaged wares. Which you haven't been able to do since they moved away. Well, Tony and I have a mansion with more space than we know what to do with. You have my permission to use it, both for storage and for any repair work you may want to do. If you can find someone to fix them, then you now have the space to do it in.”

“That's very kind o' ya,” replied Crow, “An' we're lucky that ya still wanna be part o' us. Tony, I only 'ope we can make this up to ya as time goes on.”

“Just make sure Arianna is safe,” Tony retorted. It seemed to be taking all of the kindly boy's efforts to put across exactly how angry he was.

“I will,” promised Crow, “But now I need to talk to everyone else 'ere as well. I'm sorry that ya've all spent the last few days worryin' an' not knowin' wot's gonna 'appen. In truth, I dunno for sure either. But I'm gonna tell ya now wot I think we should do, so then ya can all let me know wot ya think about it an' if ya 'ave any other ideas.”

“Go on then,” Roddy prompted.

His eyes had never left Crow the whole time they'd been talking and Badger could only wonder what might be going on in Roddy's head. After the last auction had been cancelled, Roddy claimed that he trusted Crow to make the right decision. Now it was time to discover if he'd been right to place that kind of trust in the leader.

“All right, let's start with our upmarket auction,” began Crow, “I want these to carry on as they 'ave bin, takin' Arianna's suggestions into account. We can cancel this week's if some o' ya don't feel up to it, but when we get to the next one I wanna shake it up, like Arianna said.”

“W-we've been talking among ourselves since that night,” Gus chipped in, “I, um, th-think I speak for us all when I say that we want to carry on as soon as possible. We were actually more worried that you'd cancel this week's final auction, given how close you've cut telling us about it.”

There was a general murmur of approval from the others. Badger was glad to hear that they seemed to share his sentiments on the matter.

“Then I'm glad ya do wanna get back to this soon. In which case, I apologise for leavin' it this long to bet back to all o' ya,” Crow replied.

“Even with such short notice, we can be ready in time,” vowed Scraps, “I haven't stopped collecting trinkets just because you didn't know what we were doing next.”

“I'm glad to 'ear. Thanks, Scraps,” Crow said, “But overall I don't think that carryin' on with those auctions is a big surprise to anyone. They've bin runnin' steady for us without causin' too many problems for a while now. Closin' them would be the end o' the Black Ravens as an auction group, I can imagine. So while we might be gonna polish 'em up, they're not the biggest matter 'ere. No, wot we really need to talk about is the new auctions.”

Badger felt himself start to shiver in nervous anticipation. This was the part of the meeting he'd been waiting for. Because no matter what he tried to tell himself on the subject, he just didn't know what Crow would think was best to do about those auctions. Somehow, because Badger had come up with the idea, it felt as if whatever happened to it was a reflection upon him. If Crow deemed those auctions too risky to carry on with, then part of Badger would feel that he had let the group down by suggesting them at all. Even if Marilyn had said the Black Ravens might not have lasted much longer without the new energy those auctions had brought.

“I feel that if we cancel those auctions now then we'll end up back where we were before. An' we can probably all agree that this wouldn't be for the best,” Crow went on. When he said that, Badger let go of the breath he'd been holding. So Crow wasn't going to cancel them after all. He listened eagerly as Crow continued; “But we can't keep 'em goin' as they are. We should let more people in than we 'ad done in the past, yeah, but that don't mean that we can let our guard down entirely. So I go back to wot I said to Arianna before – we keep a bettah watch ovah everyone at every auction. We trust each othah to invite the right people, but part o' that trust means that we can also pull each othah up if we do think that a wrong customah 'as bin invited. Sayin' that someone's made a mistake doesn't mean ya don't trust that person, it just 'elps us become strongah as a group. Heck, we wouldn't be 'ere if all o' ya 'adn't constantly bin pointin' out the mistakes that I've made. An' I want ya to always do that. Always tell me when I'm wrong.”

“Oh, you don't need to worry about that. We will,” chuckled Roddy.

“Good. That's good,” assured Crow, “Now, that covahs wot I wanted to say on this. Does anyone else 'ave anythin' they wanna add?”

Scraps pulled himself up to his feet; “I do, yeah. All this you've been saying about the tightened watch over the auctions is fine, but that's not the only problem I have with them. You said at the start that you always wanted to go ahead with auctions, even with the risk of low stock. At the time I kept my mouth shut, but I'm telling you now that it isn't possible. I've been worked ragged trying to keep up with you and even at my pace I can't manage. So my position is this – consult me before arranging any auction. I'll be the one to tell you if we can do it or not.”

“That seems fair,” Crow agreed, “All right then, are there any more suggestions or should we get ready for tomorrah's auction?”

No one seemed to have any further objections. So after that the group moved on to prepare for the next day. There'd been a lot to think about and Badger found himself distracted enough by it that he didn't pay as much attention to what came next as he should have done. Fortunately, most of the changes to tomorrow's auction were focused on Arianna, so Badger's mind was freed up to wander onto other things. He felt glad that Crow still wanted to carry on with the other auctions, even if Scraps's terms would probably mean there'd be less of them. That might well be for the best, however. The whole idea of having auctions where they risk making a loss was to keep them all motivated. If those auctions ended up running them into the ground, then it defeated the purpose that they were there for.

All the same, this making them safer did get Badger thinking back to what Marilyn had said about Crow that other night. Eventually, this would become usual, too. And then Crow would once again grow restless. He had to force himself not to think about what he could do to help Crow when that day came. Because Marilyn had been right in saying that he was only prolonging the inevitable. It was Crow's choice to live his life and find the challenges he wanted.

What Badger needed to do was prepare himself for when that happened.

So in the run-up to the next auction, he kept his head down and carried on. There was enough work to be done to prepare for it anyway. Meaning his only distraction came when Crow talked to him seriously later that night, as they both sat awake up in his room.

“'avin' more Black Ravens on show watchin' ovah the auctions is a big move,” Crow confirmed, “An' there might not be as much need to do it tomorrah, given that it's mostly our usual crowd. But I wanna start us off light, so that we know wot we're doin' when it 'appens for real. All the same, I know 'ow nervous ya get with crowds. If ya don't wanna do this, then no one's gonna make ya.”

“Nah, I'll do it,” assured Badger, surprising even himself. Though he knew that if he wanted to make himself a stronger person, then he had to start somewhere. “I'm fast, so yer want me t' be around out there fer if summit goes t' pot.”

“Yeah, an' ya strong, too,” Crow agreed, “If that knock ya gave me back when we first met is anythin' to go on.”

“C-can we not talk about that...?” mumbled Badger.

He still felt embarrassed remembering that his first encounter with the Black Raven had found him so scared that he'd punched Crow in the face. Not that he'd known who Crow was at the time, but all the same, looking back on it now made Badger feel a bit queasy.

“All right, I won't,” Crow promised. He didn't seem nearly as bothered at recollecting this event as Badger did, however; “Let's just focus on the next auction for now.”

Badger could agree on that. And after a bit more talking, the two of them eventually bid each other good night and turned to get some sleep. Crow's 'bed' was currently a spare mattress that had been dumped haphazardly in the middle of the floor in his room. Badger had been given the actual bed for the whole time he'd been staying there, as much as he'd insisted there was no need. Sleep was never something that Badger had been good at anyway, so the comfy bed meant very little to him. But both Crow and Maureen had insisted, so Badger saw no room to argue. All the same, the last few years had seen Badger go through a growth-spurt that Crow hadn't come close to matching, which meant that his skinny feet poked out over the end of the little bed. It wasn't ideal, but this was a small price to pay in comparison to what he'd come from. An awkward bed was nothing when the alternate had been staying back home, looking after his dad...

There were still many thoughts running through Badger's mind as he let sleep take him, however the next day he found that whatever had been on his mind now escaped him. Not that it mattered, given that he had much more work to throw himself into today.

As was becoming the norm, the Black Ravens gave everything they'd got to getting ready for the night's auctions.

Their wealthy customers had no idea of the changes that were coming. But by the time they arrived, they could tell that something was different about tonight. The air was filled with intrigue as the crowd walked in. They glanced from side to side, taking in that there were now several Black Ravens stationed around the room, as opposed to just the usual one up on the stage.

And while Crow did stand at his place next to the podium, today the spotlight was not on him, but on two empty seats at the front of the room. They were clearly marked as being reserved and by the time their guests had sat down there wasn't one person who hadn't regarded these seats with interest.

They waited until there was silence in the room. And although there was no signal as such, in themselves they knew when it was time for the Bardes to make their entrance. The doors were opened once again by two Black Ravens and as Arianna walked through, followed closely by Tony, the spotlight swivelled from the seat onto them. Badger knew that Scraps was the one operating it. He must have been enjoying doing something different to their routine.

All eyes were on their two planned guests, as they made their way to the seats at the front. While she walked, Arianna held her head up high, as if she was looking down on even these wealthy patrons. In contrast, Tony seemed more nervous at being the centre of such attention, but he stuck by Arianna's side like he'd vowed that he would.

Once the two of them were safely seated, the spotlight moved onto Crow, where it would stay for the rest of the evening.

“Welcome to all our 'onoured guests,” he boomed. It had been a while since Badger had seen the full force of the Black Raven out here, instead of safely admiring it from the back room. The intensity of it almost made him want to recoil, but he pulled himself together as Crow continued, “Ya might all notice there are some changes from our previous auctions tonight. First an' foremost, the Black Raven welcomes our esteemed local celebrities, Arianna an' Tony Barde. We are proud to say that they'll be biddin' with us this evenin'.”

Arianna merely nodded at the the mention, her gaze as steely as ever. It was clear that her presence had the desired effect of making the others nervous. Badger could only hope that would mean they'd bid higher when the time came.

“Next, I'm sure ya can't ignore the increased security around the room,” Crow continued, after he'd given the crowd enough time to acknowledge the two Bardes, “I'm afraid to say that there was... an incident earliah in the week, with one o' our lessah auctions. This was always a risk to be taken in dealin' with riff-raff.”

Even from down here, Badger could almost feel Scraps seething at such a comment. They all knew that Crow was merely trying to butter up their wealthy guests, but despite this, Scraps did not like anyone talking lowly of the working-classes. Especially given that they were the Black Ravens' own kind, for the most part.

“...All the same, we feel that it is not our place to condemn the many for the actions o' the few, so we 'ave decided to carry on our auctions undah a closah watch. Tonight there is no need for this extra guard, not amongst our trusted friends. 'owevah, I would like to prepare my beloved Black Ravens for wot is to come. Because o' this, they are 'ere tonight as a trial run to ready themselves. They will not interrupt ya usual auction in any way an' I 'ope that ya undahstand their reason for bein' 'ere,” explained Crow, to the general murmur of the room. There were enough compliments laced into the speech that the general reaction seemed to be a positive one.

“With that outta the way, let us begin...”

The atmosphere in these auctions was much calmer than that of the last session, which Badger was thankful for. Even if they were here to prepare themselves for what was to come, Badger didn't know if he'd be ready for next week. All the same, right now he was quietly glad to have this chance to watch Crow work his auctioneer magic from out the front, in the same way that most other people saw it.

Crow was alive on the stage. He was captivating. Clearly these moments were what he lived for and that was why the auctions meant so much to him. The way he worked the crowd was effortless, as they were just as drawn in by him as Badger was. ...Actually, probably not quite as much so as Badger was. Right here and now he felt as if he was falling for Crow all over again.

If this was Crow not even at his full potential, then Badger truly wanted to see what Crow could become if he did leave Misthallery one day. Thinking about that made butterflies battle in his stomach. He couldn't say right now whether he'd really want Crow to leave or not, but this did seem as if it was what Marilyn had been talking about.

And although his attention was almost entirely upon their charismatic leader, Badger also saw what a difference Arianna made that evening. She didn't rush in to bid on the first lot as she would have done before, but instead she would wait until the punters were sucked into their bidding and draw them out further. None of them could be sure when she would bid and that made the other guests more nervous of her. She received almost as many glances as Crow did himself.

The extra guards thankfully found that not much attention was being paid to them. There was little for them to do in truth, but being there did show them what they were to expect when it came to the real thing. Knowing where to stand, where to watch and how to bid their guests farewell felt like just the preparation that was needed.

By the time the night was over, Badger could feel a strange sort of calm thrill throughout the room. These people were not as outwardly excitable as their other crowd, but they certainly had felt the changes tonight. And they were hungry for more.

Arianna and Tony were the first to leave, everyone watching as they gracefully disappeared up the centre and out into the tunnel. Unfortunately it would be a while before they could come back, lest they raise suspicion, but that had all been arranged beforehand regardless.

After them, the other customers filed out, until it was only the remaining members of the original Black Ravens left. As the doors shut heavily, there were mixed sighs of relief from different corners of the room.

“That was intense...” gasped Gus, as he took off his mask.

“You handled it very well though,” Marilyn assured him, “We all did.”

“I'm proud o' ya,” agreed Crow, “We've overcome the first obstacle in our new routine an' I know we'll just keep goin' strong from 'ere. I 'ope each person in this room goes 'ome tonight an' feels good about themselves.”

“We haven't done anything tonight though,” Roddy debated, “Just wait until next week.”

“Bring it on!” called Scraps, from up in the rafters, “And if you mess up, Roddy, I'll be sure to swing this spotlight in your direction.”

“Thanks, Scraps. Always glad to know who my friends are,” Roddy sighed.

“No one's gonna mess up though, we're gonna do great,” Crow pressed, “We're the Black Ravens, we only know 'ow to do great!”

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Crow's confidence was infectious and Badger couldn't help but feel good about himself after hearing that. While next week would indeed bring new challenges, he knew they'd all get through it with their wonderful leader at the helm.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new routine will eventually become just “the routine” and as that begins to happen, Badger finds that his next problem comes from an unexpected source...

It felt as if the next auction came around all too quickly. Although that might have a lot to do with the fact that Badger had spent the last few days doing little else but dread its arrival. This would be the time where they'd find out for definite if their security changes were going to make any difference to the crowds that they needed to control.

In the run-up to the day of the auction, Badger had wondered if he was the only one who was nervous, given that all the others just seemed to be getting on with their preparations as if this was nothing. And once the night of the auction arrived, Badger had to confess that they'd been right not to worry – everything seemed to be going as well as it possibly could be.

There had indeed been a much rowdier commotion when these guests took to their seats. None of the guests had been expecting the extra security from the various Black Ravens placed around the room. But on the other hand, the only way they could object to this would be by outright leaving and no one seemed to want to do that either. Badger knew that once they were in this room, Crow had them. And they would not leave before he said it was time to do so.

As well as the attention their guard act got, Badger couldn't help but hear a few whispers from people who had been at the abandoned auction from the previous week. They were all curious about Arianna not being here tonight. Though they would have to go on being curious, as Crow did not address her situation directly. He merely explained that they were now going to keep a closer watch on the auctions in light of an incident.

The Black Ravens were naturally a bit more on edge for this auction than they had been during the test run. Save for Crow of course, whose confidence was unshakeable. Having him at the front of the room helped to focus them and remind them that it was okay. Or perhaps it was just Badger who he had that effect on. Either way, they managed to get through the evening without any mishaps.

“They wouldn't 'ave started anythin' tonight anyway,” Crow explained, once the auction was over and the group were sat together, “We showed 'em that we're prepared now an' most puntahs just wanna 'ave a nice evenin' without any trouble. Right now the auctions will be the safest they could be, 'cause everyone's worried about bein' watched.”

“All the same, we're not gonna let our guard down,” grumbled Roddy.

“Nah, o' course not,” Crow agreed, “We wouldn't want the Black Raven to look sloppy in front o' our guests. So keep ya backs straight an' all that. But right now I want all o' ya to go 'ome an' get some rest. Tomorrah we're 'eadin' up to Barde Manor to see wot we can do there, so it'll be an early start.”

Without meaning to, Badger found himself waiting for Louis to complain about having to get out of bed in the morning. But then he reminded himself that Louis was not here, so this complaint wouldn't come. He risked a quick glance towards Marilyn and Gus, reckoning he wasn't the only one who was thinking of Louis right now.

Though as it stood, no one said anything other than agreement in regards to these plans. So the group left it there for that night, knowing that they'd meet up again tomorrow at an unspecified time.

Certainly by the time they left for Barde Manor the next day it seemed to feel too early for Crow, specified or not, as Badger walked with him up the long trek there. He yawned loudly and then shoved into his mouth the last bite of some toast Maureen had insisted they took with them. Badger couldn't help but wonder why he'd insisted on such an early start directly following their auction if he wasn't going to be prepared for it.

“I can't believe Bucky ain't about at this hour,” he whined, “That's some good business 'e's just lost.”

Badger chuckled, “I bet someone else just beat us to it. And besides, the exercise woun't do yer any 'arm, Crowlo.”

“Oi! I'll 'ave ya know that I do plenty o' runnin' as the Black Raven,” huffed Crow, indignantly, “This is just a bit earliah than I'm use to.”

“Yer were the one who arranged it,” reminded Badger, quite enjoying this.

The rest of the walk was pleasant and uneventful. Near the top they were joined by Marilyn and Gus, who had been the culprits behind getting a lift up from Bucky before Crow and Badger could. Even Badger had to admit that he felt a little jealous when the two of them talked about what a nice morning it had been for a boat trip.

As they reached Barde Manor, all of them had to agree that it looked a good deal better than it had done a few years ago. The last time Badger had been there was when he'd been walking the siblings home with Marilyn and it had been dark then, so he couldn't fully appreciate it as he could right now. The well-trimmed garden basked in the sunlight and you could tell that this place was cared for. After the spectre attacks, the whole town had decided to help Tony and Arianna with a renewed conviction, so the two of them never found themselves at a loss for people to offer assistance with gardening and probably other household chores. Of course they deserved all the aid they could get, after what they'd been through. But at the same time a slightly horrible part of Badger wished that his own situation had been sympathetic enough so that someone could have come and helped him look after his house before... before his dad got taken away.

He shouldn't dwell on that though. And he especially shouldn't begrudge the Bardes for getting the support they needed.

“It would be nice to go have a proper look at that lake sometime,” Gus suggested, as they reached the door, “You know, the one where Loosha lived.”

“Maybe anothah time,” hummed Crow, “Aftah all, that ain't wot we're 'ere for today.”

They rung the doorbell, which echoed loudly in a rather grand chime. However, they didn't have to wait very long until Tony pulled the door open for them. It looked almost too heavy for him, but then again he must be used to it after so many years of practise.

“That's all of you then,” Tony informed, as he ushered the four inside, “Roddy and Scraps arrived just a little while ago.”

“I 'ope Scraps 'as bin behavin' 'imself. I know wot 'e can get like around rich people,” checked Crow. He was trying to make light of it, but Badger knew that in that statement was genuine concern for keeping the friendships within the group.

“Roddy's kept him in line,” assured Tony.

After a short walk through the hall, they joined Roddy, Scraps and Arianna in what Badger assumed was the living room. Though perhaps it was just one of many living rooms, given how big this place was. Badger couldn't even imagine what one house could do with that many different rooms, so maybe they just doubled over on the same rooms after a while. Regardless, this particular living room gave the impression that it was lived in. There was a sort of mismatched feel to the way the furniture lay and the wood flooring had the tell-tale signs of dried mud that might have been dragged in from outside. Clearly this was a room that the two Bardes used a lot, which did help the Black Ravens feel more at home within it.

“I'm glad that you could make it,” Arianna greeted, “These two were just telling me that last night's auction went well.”

“Yeah, I'm just sorry ya couldn't 'ave bin there,” replied Crow.

“Nonsense. Helping the Black Ravens isn't all about being there on the night. There's much more to be done behind the scenes and I want to be ready for that,” dismissed Arianna. Behind her Scraps was nodding eagerly along with the statement. Apparently hearing willingness to do hard work to help the auctions cancelled out his general mistrust of the rich.

“Any 'elp ya can give us we'll be grateful for,” Crow confirmed.

“Right, well we'd best show you the rooms that I think would be more suited for your use,” Arianna concluded, getting up to her feet.

What followed was a brief tour around the manor that confirmed Badger's suspicions in regards to the house having more rooms than anyone knew what to do with. It was possible that Evan Barde had, in his time, made use of all this space for whatever functions he was holding, but right now his children had more than they knew what to do with. So many of the rooms they were shown did little more than gather dust. In that respect they'd be perfect for the Black Ravens to use, both for storage and other work that they might wish to do on some of the wares that were in need of repair.

“I don't mind what you use these for,” Arianna told them, as she opened the door to yet another dusty room, “All I ask is that you don't confuse my father's furniture for your own goods, unless I give you permission to sell them on. Of course Tony and myself have little need for all of this, but you never know what the future might bring, so we want to be prepared.”

“Ya got our word that we won't take anything that's yours. The Black Ravens 'ave more honour than that,” promised Crow.

“We're just glad that you're letting us do this at all,” Roddy added, “That store room wasn't the best for keeping all our goods in.”

“Was Wren and Socket's garage that big? You know, before they moved away and you could still use it?” asked Tony.

“Not really, but they were both geniuses,” Marilyn explained, “Meaning that Wren could think up ideas and Socket could fix anything up based on her suggestions almost before you could blink. Stuff never stayed with them for long, because they knew how to make our customers want to buy them.”

“I bet you miss having them around...” Tony mumbled.

“We do, but we also know that we can't replace 'em,” answered Crow, “...Or Louis, for that mattah. Each member brings their own skills to the Black Ravens, they're all special. So when someone leaves, it wouldn't be fair just to train anothah up to follow in their footsteps. New members will 'ave somethin' different to offah than Wren, Socket or Louis did.”

“And you've both done a great job of bringing skills that we've never had before,” Marilyn continued.

At that, Badger noticed that Tony recoiled a little behind Arianna. He'd still never said if he wanted to be part of them again, beyond keeping an eye on his sister, so Badger wondered if he resented being grouped in with them like that. But then again, it might be something else that's been worrying him. Because in a few short weeks of being there, Arianna had stepped up to the table and found ways to make herself useful to the Black Ravens. By contrast, Tony had been an honourary member for a long time without doing much more than occasionally help push stock about behind the curtains.

Could it be that Tony was a little bit jealous of his sister's ambitions? Badger certainly knew how he felt to be overshadowed by a much more charismatic person, if that was the case.

Seemingly no one else had paid much mind to Tony's falter, however, as Scraps pressed on with the conversation.

“All the same, we do need someone to develop some skills with a hammer sometime soon,” he insisted, “I'm not saying it has to be on Socket levels, but we do find a lot of stuff that can't be sold without a bit of fixing up.”

“Well, now we all 'ave the space to develop our innah repair workahs,” assured Crow, “It won't 'appen ovah night, but in time we'll see wot we can do. Movin' on though, I 'ate to be the one bringin' a sour note onto this, but it will be a long hike carryin' everythin' up 'ere. Especially for some o' the largah items, like chairs an' wot 'ave ya.”

“Already dealt with that,” Marilyn chimed in, “Gus and I spoke with Bucky on the way up and he said he'd be happy to help us transport whatever we need, as long as it isn't too heavy for his boat. And let's face it, we rarely get anything that big. Oh, don't look at me like that, Crow! If you think none of the adults who live around here have any idea that we're up to something, then you're a bigger fool than I'd guessed.”

“I... suppose so... But all the same, I'd rathah ya checked with me before blurtin' out to anyone that we move second'and goods around,” sulked Crow.

“Bucky's not going to tell anyone,” Gus reasoned.

“And it's not as if we gave him any details about what we were doing with it,” Marilyn added, “He's not really bothered as long as it means more business for his boats.”

“So really we're just helping out another local business,” mused Scraps, approvingly.

“If that's settled, then I suppose we can all get started,” prompted Arianna, “Unless you'd all rather go out to the lake for an early lunch beforehand. Tony and I have a picnic basket ready just in case.”

This was one time when taking a break won out over work, without even Crow protesting. So the group of friends spent the rest of the day outside in the garden, talking together and generally having a good time. It had been a while since they'd been able to settle like this, even if the topic of work was never far from conversation, and it helped settle tensions a lot. Unsurprisingly, all it took for those who'd been cautious of Arianna and Tony to realise there was no need to worry had been for them all to spend a bit of time together. Even Scraps seemed to be feeling that, despite their different backgrounds, the two weren't all that different from the rest of them. They were still just two teenagers trying to find their way in life and Arianna at least seemed to have quickly come to care about the black market just as much as the others all did.

The rest put them all into the right frame of mind for the weeks that followed, which were filled with much more intense work. Each of them gave it their all, no matter what they were doing for the Black Ravens. Be it gathering wares, gathering customers, spreading rumours, repairing damaged goods, holding the auctions, guarding the auctions or tricking customers into spending more money – everyone had their part to play.

And soon enough, it started to work.

It wouldn't be long before the idea that they were going to fall apart would be a distant memory that they'd look back on and proudly say that they'd gotten through. Everything was right now. It might have been different from how it was before, but that didn't make it better nor worse. Instead, it was the way that things were.

They were settled once more. Which was all the cue Badger needed to start worrying again. After all, Marilyn did say that Crow would be more likely to wander once he realised that he wasn't being challenged.

So he caught Crow on his own one day. The leader had been sending Gus and Roddy off to pick up some heavier furniture from Barde Manor when Badger found him. And Badger was determined to put some of his worries to rest, even if he didn't quite know what to say.

“Everythin's goin' right, Badge',” Crow sighed wistfully, as the other two disappeared out of sight.

“B-but it wouldn't be without yer,” pressed Badger, nervously, “Yer the glue that 'old us togetheh, Crow.”

“Maybe I am, but that's just wot I'm 'ere for,” assured Crow. He sounded as if he wasn't sure where this was going.

“N-no, doun't say that...” mumbled Badger, “You're 'ere fer lots of reasons. We couldn't 'old the auctions without yer. A-and yer the best at everything...”

“I ain't,” Crow said, with complete conviction, “...I ain't the best at everythin', but that's not wot I 'afta be anyway. My role is to organise, 'cause that's wot a leadah does. I can't run as fast as you can or lift as much as Gus can or do 'alf the things that the rest o' ya do. But that's okay, 'cause bein' a Black Raven ain't about bein' the best at everythin'. It's about all o' us doin' our part. My part just 'appens to be makin' sure everyone else knows wot to do.”

“That isn't all yer do though,” Badger insisted, “Yer the one who stands on stage and makes the Black Raven come alive. Without yer we couldn't even do the auctions, like.”

“...I beg to differ.”

The objection came not from Crow, but from Marilyn. She stood behind them with a basket of groceries she'd undoubtedly been carrying to or from her parents' stall. And as they turned to face her, Badger noted that her expression was harsher than he'd seen from her before. He wanted to wither away under that gaze. Had she heard all of that? All of Badger unsubtly seeking confirmation that Crow wouldn't leave, by convincing him just how much they needed him there? Was she... angry at Badger...?

“We could hold the auctions without Crow and do it just as well as we can with him,” Marilyn went on, her voice as harsh as her expression.

“...W-we a-all 'ave our part t' play th-though...” whimpered Badger, “...Just like 'e were saying a few m-moments ago... C-crow is as important a-as us all... We could neveh not need Crow...”

“No, I wanna see where this is goin',” Crow cut in, his face fixed on Marilyn. And despite what Badger would expect, he was grinning; “Do it then, Marilyn. 'ave an auction without me. Ya 'ave one week. I will watch.”

“Shake on it under the Black Ravens' honour,” insisted Marilyn, as she offered out her hand.

Crow took it and they both shook hands with the firm grip that could only come to two people as confident as them. They were smiling the whole while, even if Badger had no idea why. From where he was standing, this was the worst possible outcome and it had come out of nowhere. All he'd wanted was reassurance that Crow knew they needed him there. Now what he was getting was an open threat that the Black Ravens didn't need Crow at all!

“I'll be around, but that's all I'll be,” Crow stated, as they finished shaking on it, “I won't talk, I won't 'elp an' I certainly won't present the auction as the Black Raven. Do ya worst, Mal.”

“We'll all do our worst,” assured Marilyn.

“In that case, I'd bettah be off,” concluded Crow, “I've suddenly found myself with a lotta free time today.”

Then, just like that, he turned on his heels and began to walk away. Naturally, Badger made to follow him-

“...No Badger, you're with me,” Marilyn instructed, softly but firmly.

“She's right, Badge',” agreed Crow, as he looked back over his shoulder, “The condition was that the Black Ravens would do this without me. An' that includes you.”

Badger wanted to protest that he hadn't agreed to any part of this. That he knew the whole thing would fail anyway, so they shouldn't even waste their time. The Black Ravens could not hold one single successful auction without Crow there to lead them. A-and if they were going to try, then he wouldn't be involved in their efforts. Badger belonged by Crow's side, be that in the Black Ravens or out of them.

...Of course, this was not what Badger said.

What Badger instead did was slowly nod and answer; “Y-yeah... I'll see yer tonight when I get 'ome, per'aps...”

“That ya will. Though I assume that ya gonna 'ave a lotta work to do, so I won't be surprised if ya late,” reasoned Crow.

Marilyn then hurried him along; “We don't talk about our work with bystanders, so if you'd be so kind...”

“By all means.”

With that, Badger became powerless to do more than watch as their leader left him and temporarily left the Black Ravens as well. He did not cry, but he did feel deeply wounded by what was happening. And as he looked at Marilyn, he couldn't even begin to guess at what she was planning in that wise and cunning head of hers...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marilyn begins to organise the Black Ravens so they can get ready for her auction. During the first day of this, Badger makes some realisations about a few of the people around him and also about himself.

The meeting announcing Marilyn's intentions came soon after her talk with Crow. She arranged it to take place up at Barde Manor instead of the auction hall, where they usually held meetings. Though given that Crow wasn't taking part in this, she was free to hold it wherever she liked regardless.

Badger wished that he could also have no part in this. As the others came in and milled around in mild confusion, he found himself wondering where Crow was right now. Surely once Marilyn told the group what was happening they'd be just as annoyed as Badger was about this betrayal to him.

“I'm sorry to call you all here on such short notice,” began Marilyn, once they'd all got into the room and Gus had closed the room, “But there's been a slight change to this week's auction schedule. To start with, Crow will not be taking part in our activities during the week at all.”

“Is... is he ill?” Tony checked, nervously.

“No, that's not the reason why he isn't with us. He's not here because the two of us have come to an agreement to see how well the Black Ravens can manage without him,” answered Marilyn.

This was when Badger had expected the group to snap. The cat was out of the bag. They now all knew that they'd be doing the next auction without their leader. He gazed around the room at each of them.

But what he found in those expressions was not what he had been expecting.

Arianna and Scraps continued to watch Marilyn with unblinking indifference. Out of all of the group, Badger supposed that those two were more focused on getting the job done than details that involved other people. Gus, while nervous, didn't seem to be all that surprised. Badger couldn't help but wonder if Marilyn had already talked to him about Crow's absence before the meeting. Only Tony, who wasn't even currently a member of the Black Ravens, looked genuinely shocked to hear the news.

What about Roddy though? Him and Crow had always been best friends, with their bond going back to even before the group had formed. Surely he of all people would be angry at the idea of Crow being muscled out. But by the time Badger got around to looking at him, it seemed that he'd missed whatever initial reaction Roddy might have had. Presently, he was solemnly shaking his head.

“It's about time,” he stated, “Something had to give.”

Badger gaped at him. In that moment he felt utterly betrayed by Roddy's words on Crow's behalf!

“Maybe so, but we're not here to talk about Crow's state. At least not in a meeting like this,” Marilyn pointedly replied. Somehow Badger felt he was the reason she wouldn't talk about this to Roddy right now. Being cut out of the loop like that was not a nice feeling. It consumed him enough that he almost missed what came next as Marilyn went on; “We're here to discuss the auction, as this one will be different to any that we've had previously. Actually, as our official guardian of the gate, your help will be invaluable, Roddy.”

“Go on,” Roddy prompted, his expression unreadable.

“I'm going to cancel two auctions this week,” informed Marilyn, “One from our classic crowd and one from our newer customers. It'll be down to you and me in particular to get word out about this, given that we're the ones who usually tell people what they need to know about the auctions. If anyone outside of the Black Ravens tries to get into the underground tunnel, then I want you to stop them.”

“But how do you expect us to do this if you're going to cancel auctions?” asked Scraps. That question had also entered Badger's mind.

“We are doing an auction, but it will be different in more than just us being down one Black Raven,” Marilyn assured, “The auction this week will be our first to combine the two markets – the rich and the poor. They will bid together, against each other and they will not know what to expect. This auction will be unlike anything the Black Ravens have ever done.”

“In that case, I think a change of venue might be in order,” suggested Arianna, “Temporarily, of course. But if you want our audience to truly feel as if this is a unique experience for them, then holding it in the hall will dull the effect. So I propose that for this one time we hold the auction in Barde Manor. You know we have space.”

“That would be very kind of you. I hadn't considered it, but I think I'll take you up on that offer,” Marilyn agreed.

“It'll also mean that we won't have to lug any of the heavier furniture back down to the market,” added Scraps, “Since some of us have gotten a bit lazy about carrying it.”

“If you feel so strongly about that then maybe you can take it all next time, instead of me and Gus,” Roddy snorted, “Though all the same, Scraps is right that it'll make things easier.”

Marilyn nodded before she continued, “We're settled then. Two of this week's auctions will be cancelled and instead one will be held here in Barde Manor to cater to both audiences. Now, we all know there's a lot of work to be done, so we'd better-”

“...Um?” Tony cut in, loudly and pointedly.

“Yes, Tony?” encouraged Marilyn.

“I... well, I mean... y-yes, I'd like to rejoin the Black Ravens. Just for this auction...” he mumbled.

“You're more than welcome to,” Marilyn confirmed, “Right now, the more hands the better. All right then, that means Roddy will be heading back to the market to begin letting our regular customers know about this and Scraps will be going with him to look for wares, as usual. I'll be joining the two of you later, but right now I need to stay here to talk with Arianna about setting up the auction in the manor. Tony, Gus and Badger, I want the three of you to get started on repairing trinkets. Also Gus, once we've settled on a room we'll probably need you to come clear it out and carry in any furniture we need.”

“Got it,” chimed Gus.

“Wait, um... I'm staying up 'ere?” Badger asked, “Doun't yer need me at the market? Running on the rooftops as the Black Raven is what I do best.”

“Today I need you working on the goods we have here. It's slower going without Socket and we need as many hands on deck as possible to get as much ready as we can. When we need to drum up excitement around the market, then you can go there,” Marilyn instructed.

Badger nodded quietly, since he didn't trust himself to say anything in response right now. He hated feeling like this, because he'd always trusted Marilyn and confided in her, but right now he was just so caught up in how much he didn't want to do this.

The others all made their various murmurs in agreement with the plan and after a few more details were finalised they all headed out at their own pace. Badger went through with Gus and Tony to the room where they sorted out the trinkets ready for auction. Although soon enough Gus was indeed called away by Marilyn and Arianna to help with whatever room had been selected, leaving only Badger and Tony working in an awkward silence.

Since Arianna had started letting them use the manor, the room that Badger was currently in had changed greatly from how Badger remembered it being to start with. Once it had been just another dusty sitting room, but now it was filled to the brim with an ever-changing assortment of weird and wonderful things, each in various states of repair. The floor was littered with wood shavings and nails, so you had to be careful where you put your feet. In the centre was a long table that they used for working on, big enough to fit each Black Raven around the outside. It was a bit of a shame that Socket wasn't there to see it, given that he would have loved to work somewhere like this.

...Though on the other hand, Socket would have gotten a good laugh at how poorly they generally did with fixing up knick-knacks without him. Tony winced as he hit his thumb instead of the nail with the hammer he'd been using, not for the first time today. When he noticed Badger had been watching, he averted his eyes in embarrassment.

“I'm not very good at this...” he whimpered.

“It's ah'reet, neither am I,” Badger replied. He gestured towards a Victorian teddy bear that was looking a bit less regal with every stitch Badger wonkily sewed into place.

After a brief glance at the teddy, Tony shook his head; “That doesn't matter though. You're good at running and adding stuff up. I'm just... kind of all right at those. Just like everything I do...”

“We 'ave a place fer everyone,” offered Badger, echoing words that he knew Crow would say.

“I keep getting told that, but I don't think it's true,” Tony confessed, “Crow makes use of people who know what they're doing, like my sister. Arianna has so much to offer the group, so she's fitted in naturally. But no one knows what to do with me and I don't even know what to do with myself...”

“When I started I thought that I were useless too,” reasoned Badger, “But Crow found out me skills and 'elped me learn 'ow to use them.”

“But he hasn't done that with me,” Tony argued, “I felt as if when I said I was going to quit that he wasn't too surprised. Because he knew I didn't have it in me...”

“There were a lot gan on when yer said yer were ganna leave,” reminded Badger.

“He still would have fought harder if he'd wanted me to stay! I just... don't think Crow believes in me...” Tony trailed off.

Badger didn't know what to say to that. Because he didn't know what was running through Crow's head. The leader was hard enough to predict at the best of times and he hadn't talked to Badger much about Tony as far as he could remember. Saying what Crow might feel about Tony's role in the group would be insincere when Badger didn't know for sure. And the last thing Tony needed right now was empty words of reassurance.

Though at the same time, this week wasn't about Crow...

“Look, eh, doun't think about Crow fer a second,” said Badger, even if that was rich coming from him, “Crow's not 'ere fer now and I reckon that's why yer joined us again this week anyway. So... um, what Crow thinks of yer doun't matteh right now.”

“I'm still no good at this though,” Tony protested, as he pointed at the mess he was making of repairing the clock in front of him.

“Well, when I'm feeling like I can't do owt reet, sometimes I gan talk t' Marilyn,” suggested Badger, “Mal's much betteh at listening than Crow is and I bet she'd set yer off on the reet track if yer said this isn't working out.”

“D-do you mind if I do that?” checked Tony. He was already getting up out of the chair as he spoke.

“Yeah, it's fine” Badger promised him.

In truth Badger felt more comfortable without the worry of having to make conversation, so he didn't mind so much when Tony dashed out of the room. Instead he just got back to work with what he was doing. Slowly, but surely, the teddy bear started to look presentable again. Perhaps it wasn't the best that it could have been, but it was good enough to sell and Badger felt at least a little better about getting it done.

As he was fishing through a box to find something else to fix up, the door creaked open again. This time it was Arianna who joined him instead of her brother. Badger felt himself tense up a little. While he did like Arianna, she was generally a bit stern and the two of them hadn't spoken much. During the time she'd been in the Black Ravens, Arianna seemed to have bonded better with those who were also confident and direct, like Roddy and Marilyn, than she had done with those who were as quiet as Badger.

Almost as if to empathise this point, Arianna spoke first.

“That was very kind, what you said to Tony,” she stated. And although she was formal about it, there was definite gratitude to her tone.

“Just wanted t' get 'im on the reet track,” Badger mumbled, “Marilyn's good at that.”

“Yes, well, she's got him sorting out the room we're using for the auction now,” Arianna told him, “Of course, I'd been doing that to start with, but he knows this house just as well as I do. And to be honest, he knows Misthallery better than I do. So I'm sure he'll do a fine job of organising how to get our guests through to the hall without attracting too much attention from the rest of the town.”

“But what about afteh that?” checked Badger, “Tony realleh wants t' be part of us, but 'e can't just do little jobs like that foreveh.”

“After that he'll find something else to do and something else once he's done with the next job. Until eventually he finds his own way,” Arianna answered curtly, “People like you, Marilyn and myself can only help him so far before he has to learn to help himself. It might seem cruel, but I know that Tony will get there.”

“Do you think Crow knew that, too?” Badger asked, wistfully.

It would make sense that Crow didn't offer Tony more help if he knew that Tony needed to figure all this out for himself.

But as Arianna took a seat at the other side of the table, she shook her head.

“No, I don't think Crow believed Tony would stick it out. He wouldn't have meant any harm by it, but it seems to me as if Crow isn't the sort of person who'd know how you felt unless you told him directly,” answered Arianna.

Even though Badger knew this was true, especially after what had happened between him and Crow back in London, he couldn't help but want to defend Crow against such words. It didn't feel right that someone who hadn't known him personally for very long was making judgements upon his behaviour like that.

“You dunno know fer sure that 'e weren't 'olding back so Tony could figure this out fer 'imself,” he insisted. Sadly, that was the only comeback to that entered his head.

“Perhaps, but I do know one thing for sure,” countered Arianna, “That you, despite not being close to Tony, offered him advice when he needed it. Even though you didn't know what his skills might be any better than he does himself, you still pointed him in the right direction by sending him to someone who could help. Crow has had many more chances to talk to Tony, even the first time he was an honourary member, but he didn't do what you did. I'm not trying to say that he's horrible, just that he didn't pick up on Tony needing help, because he's not good at reading people outside of for his business.”

“Mebbe that's true, but 'e still would of done summit if Tony 'ad told 'im,” Badger stubbornly proclaimed.

“You're probably right. But that's not what happened,” dismissed Arianna, “Though it does seem like Crow's been distracted by his own problems lately. Perhaps if we'd joined at another time then he could have helped Tony more.”

“'is own problems...?” Badger echoed.

His words must have been too quiet for Arianna to pick up on, because she didn't offer any sort of response. After a few minutes of them both getting back to work, Badger figured that the moment had gone and it would be too uncomfortable to bring it up again. He didn't want Arianna to think that he only talked about Crow, even if that was true.

Throughout the rest of the day, different people came and went from the repair room. Including Scraps, who would routinely drop off new items to fix, making comments on their work each time he did. Badger knew that he'd had a few more conversations with the others as he worked, but none of what they'd said stuck in his mind the way his talk with Arianna did.

What problems could Crow still have?

They'd worked around the issue of Wren and Socket moving. Even if Crow didn't much like them not being here now, he had come to accept that sometimes he just couldn't fight the powers of change. In the same respect, while Louis leaving had an impact, if anything it was a weight of guilt removed from all of their shoulders to not have to worry about Mr. Shackwell coming to bid any more. There was of course the matter of Umid... But as much as Badger didn't know what was going on in that regard, it seemed as if Umid going back to Mosinnia meant that there wasn't anything for Crow to actively worry about for now.

...Unless Badger was the problem.

It didn't take long for his paranoid mind to reach that conclusion. Badger had brought up his crush on Crow a while back, only for Crow to never mention it again. Which must have been especially difficult for Crow when Badger was currently living with him. Had he outstayed his welcome? Nothing Crow nor Maureen had said seemed to suggest as such, but maybe they were just putting on brave faces.

Or maybe this had nothing to do with Badger at all and was instead about what Marilyn seemed so sure was the issue – that Crow would constantly feel wanderlust if he stayed in Misthallery.

All this buzzed through Badger's mind, but no matter how much he thought about it he came no closer to knowing the answer. And he wouldn't do unless he did the one thing that he sensibly should do – talk to Crow.

They had made a promise to try better to communicate, after all. A promise that they had mostly kept in regards to the little things. Badger had been living with Crow long enough that the two of them were much more comfortable talking than they had been in the past. Maybe now was the time to move that onto the bigger things. Even if it hurt to find out the answers, Badger knew he should ask Crow about his problems.

He was confident in this conclusion by the time he did get back to the house at the end of the evening. Maureen ushered him inside, full of questions about why her little Thomas had been skulking around the house, which was apparently so unlike him. Crow looked notably embarrassed about her telling Badger that when he joined him in the bedroom.

“It ain't as if I've bin 'ere all day,” he huffed, “She's just makin' a mountain outta a mole'ill, like usual.”

“It's ah'reet,” dismissed Badger, as he joined him in sitting on the bed, “Um, mebbe this is a bit sudden, but can I... talk to yer about, eh, some stuff?”

“Sure, as long as it ain't Black Raven business. That's not on my 'ead this week,” answered Crow. And perhaps Badger was just imagining it, but it didn't sound as if Crow would object too much should he want to start talking about what had been going on today. Chances are he was worried about the group very much and was just maintaining his position on the matter out of stubbornness.

“Nah, it's got nowt t' do with that,” promised Badger, “...Ah, w-well, mebbe it does in a roundabout way, but I wanted t' talk about... a-about you.”

“Me?” Crow checked, his visible eyebrow raising in confusion.

“Y-yeah... because I-I know yer've been worried about a lotteh things right now, but we doun't talk about it... I'm not good at talking, as yer know... but we did say that we'd- ...th-that is, I mean that I want t' 'elp yer if I can. If there's owt yer'd think I could 'elp yer with, then just tell me,” stammered Badger.

Crow smiled; “Thanks, Badge'. I did promise that I'd try not to worry ya by keepin' everythin' bottled up. It's just that I'm still not use to talkin' through my problems. I feel bad for puttin' it all on any o' my friend's 'eads.”

“That's what we're 'ere fer though,” insisted Badger.

“Ya right. An' I reckon that Mal an' Rod 'ave me figured out most o' the time anyway,” Crow chuckled, “There's no keepin' anythin' from 'em.”

“Um... about Marilyn, I weren't sure 'ow yer felt about what she's doing...” Badger prompted.

“I think I've got a good idea about 'er intentions, but it wouldn't be my place to say,” evaded Crow, “Especially not since I don't think I'm the only one she's testin'. All I can say is don't try to fight my cornah, Badge'. It might be 'ard, but I'd be thankful if ya just go along with wot Marilyn wants.”

That was easier said than done. Badger knew that he was being childish to want this upcoming auction to fail, but he was so scared of what might happen to Crow should he come to the conclusion that he wasn't needed here. And part of him wished that Crow was angrier about it all as well. The Black Ravens had always been his creation and them going on without him just felt wrong.

But if Crow didn't want to talk about it then Badger would respect those wishes. And he supposed that he'd have no choice but to go along with Marilyn's plan if that was what Crow wanted him to do...

“Right, well... about otheh things,” Badger went on, “I'll be honest, Crowlo, I doun't know what's worrying yer. Um, yer a very complex person a-and every time I reckon I've got a read on yer, summit 'appens t' completely throw me. But if yer just tell me what's wrong then I could try t' do what I can. I really do want t' 'elp yer...”

The smile Crow gave Badger this time held a different quality to his usual smirks. Badger could tell that he felt thankful for this offer and having Crow feel gratitude towards him was so overwhelming that Badger had to stop himself from covering his face in embarrassment.

“I don't think I'm as complicated as ya make out,” reasoned Crow, “A lotta wot's worryin' me might be that same as wot's bin on your mind as well. Though part o' me feels selfish for feelin' like this aftah we've worked so 'ard to get the auctions back on track...”

“Yer getting' restless, aren't yer?” Badger checked.

He should have known that Marilyn had been right about that. There was no way that someone as driven as Crow could be content with staying in a quiet town like Misthallery forever. Deep down inside he wanted to move on, but he probably felt bad about it when he had a duty to his friends.

“It ain't as simple as that,” Crow replied. He frowned thoughtfully; “I'm not gonna lie to ya, Badgah, part o' me would like to move to somethin' biggah someday. But at the same time... I feel that wot we've built up 'ere is amazin'. I wouldn't wanna leave all o' ya, 'cause I love ya too much an' I know ya need me.”

It took Badger a moment to register that Crow had been talking about the group as a whole when he said that. The idea of Crow saying that he loved him was easily too much to handle, but at the same time there was a twang of disappointment in Badger's chest to acknowledge that this was not the case.

“I-I think that whereveh yer go yer'll make a brilliant team. Yer bring out the best in everyone,” Badger assured. He felt slightly guilty saying so, after what Tony and Arianna had said to the contrary earlier that day, but he did truly believe that Crow could help most people reach their full potential.

“Per'aps. But I don't wanna start a new team. I want all o' ya to be with me wherevah I go. But I know that ain't possible, not when so many o' ya 'ave ties 'ere,” sighed Crow, “I couldn't tear Marilyn away from 'elpin' 'er family's fruit stall or Roddy away from workin' to make money for 'is mum. An' I definitely couldn't drag you away when ya dad's still in 'ospital...”

Badger suddenly reached forward and grasped Crow's hands. The shock of his actions made them both jump and stare across at one another in surprise. Crow had seemed so sad and sincere. He wanted to stay here for all of their sakes because he knew they needed him and he needed them. Seeing him like this had moved Badger so much that he wanted to do anything he could to reassure him, but now that they were sat there like that he honestly had no idea what to do. His hands were shaking as they gripped onto Crow's and he was worried that if they got too warm and clammy that Crow might think he was gross...

However, there was no going back now.

He mustered up all his strength and began; “Crow, I'm so glad that yer want t' do all of this fer our sakes. And I'm glad that yer'd neveh want t' leave us. But when it comes t' me, I want yer t' know that I'd always-”

“Boys! Grub's up! Hurry up and get down here before it gets cold!” Maureen called upstairs, making Badger jump with fright for a second time.

“Go on, Badge'...” Crow pleaded. He'd leaned so far forward that their faces were almost touching.

Badger looked at Crow, his face shining with eager anticipation. Then he looked down at their hands, noting that both of them were shaking. It was too much. Far too much. Badger pulled his hands away and got up off the bed. He stared down at Crow apologetically.

“I-I-I'm sorreh... M-me nerve's g-gone...” he whispered.

Crow got to his feet. He looked at Badger and nodded calmly. He understood.

“It's okay,” he soothed, “Let's just go get dinnah before Mum starts fussin'.”

...And just like that, the moment was gone. The two of them walked downstairs together, both acting casual but pointedly not making eye-contact. Throughout the entirety of the meal they evaded various questions from Maureen about why Crow hadn't been out with his friends today. She seemed mostly worried that there had been some kind of fall out between the group. Fortunately Crow knew what to say to dispel her concerns, since Badger definitely didn't feel up to talking right now.

He wanted to kick himself for ruining the moment before. Now he might never know what could have happened if he'd just told Crow how he felt. That regardless of whatever else happened, he would follow Crow forever. As much as he did feel guilty towards his dad's situation for feeling that way. Being with Crow was the most important thing to Badger. Even more so than being in Misthallery...

...Wait, yes. Being with Crow was more important than being in Misthallery. Despite being scared of the world, Badger knew as long as Crow was by his side that he'd be able to get through it. And with that knowledge, maybe he did indeed have more options than just learning how to survive living in this little town without Crow.

As that certainty settled on him, Badger caught Crow's eye. The two of them smiled across at one another. And while Badger figured that Crow probably had no idea what was running through his head, he felt comforted by the expression all the same.

He might not know what Marilyn had in store for the next auction or what Crow would do based on how that auction went, but he did now feel as if he knew what he was going to do for himself in his own future.

It would just take a bit of sorting out after this week was through...


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of Marilyn's auction arrives and everything begins to set into motion. But Badger ends up being side-tracked by something that isn't part of the plan.

With the new-found knowledge that he did indeed have more than one option for his future, Badger went into the second day of preparing for Marilyn's auction with renewed hope. Although he still didn't know for sure how this was going to end, he no longer felt as if he'd be trapped should what Marilyn had planned go well.

Even if... proving they could do this without Crow might well mean that one day they would be doing exactly that.

...Okay, so it still hurt a little bit to think about that.

It seemed that Badger was having a better time than Tony, however. They'd both thought they were going to be assigned to another day of repairing damaged goods, but in Tony's case he was unexpectedly pulled away from this task.

“You're going to be spending the day with me,” Scraps told him, to Tony's silent horror, “I'm sure even a rich kid like you can learn to see treasures amongst the trash.”

Poor Tony had gaped around at Marilyn, his sister and then even Badger for any words that might get him out of this fate. But it seemed as if the two girls were in agreement and Badger was too timid to argue against them. So a hapless Tony walked away with Scraps, probably about to endure a whole day of looking through piles of rubbish. Badger couldn't say that he envied him for that. Scraps was intimidating enough when you first met him anyway, let alone if you were as wealthy as the Bardes. There was no doubt that Tony would have to put up with more than a few unsubtle comments in his direction. Hopefully learning from Scraps would do him more good than harm though.

By contrast, Badger had a much less awkward day ahead of him, which he felt a little guilty about. With much of the early organising for the auction room having been finished yesterday, that left Gus free to help with the repair work. Talking with Gus was much more comfortable for Badger than talking with either Tony or Arianna, so even when he wasn't doing a great job of the repair work, he still felt in better spirits for having an old friend to joke about it with.

But no matter how well the second day went for Badger, as the week went on he couldn't stop himself from becoming restless. Marilyn had kept him doing the same thing since the start and fixing anything wasn't Badger's area of expertise. He longed to be out, running across the rooftops or keeping watch from his lookout. Being constantly cooped up in the same room was quite stressful, especially when he didn't feel as if he was doing a good job of his work. No amount of cheerful atmosphere with friends could stop those blues from settling in.

“Somethin' up, Badge'?” asked Crow, when Badger returned one night after another day of what felt like was becoming the same old. Badger had to remind himself that it hadn't even been a week since they'd started.

“Nowt,” Badger murmured defensively.

He lay down heavily on the bed Crow had given up for him and let out a long sigh. His whole body ached, which was weird given that he'd hardly been moving all day. Maybe he should do some of his push-ups later, that'd probably help get him some of the exercise that he felt he needed.

“Sounds like it ain't goin' well,” hummed Crow, “An' there was Roddy sayin' that preparations for the auction couldn't be bettah.”

Badger rolled over to face Crow; “Roddy told yer that...?”

“Ah, um... that is, well, I promise I ain't been fussin' about. We just got talkin' today an' Roddy said a few things,” reasoned Crow, with a guilty look about his face.

“Yer always fussing about,” Badger chuckled, giving Crow a smirk, “Bet yer've been fizzing all week, not knowing what we're doing, eh?”

“I worry...” Crow confessed, “It's not that I don't reckon ya all gonna do a good job, but... well, I just worry about my own, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do know. But there's no need t' worry, Crowlo. Rod's right when 'e says we're getting on well,” Badger promised.

“Then why ya so frustrated?” pressed Crow.

For a moment, Badger considered arguing that he was fine. But he could tell that there was no point debating that matter. They both knew that he wasn't at his best and seemed to be getting increasingly annoyed as the days went on. If he tried to hide it then Crow might end up thinking Badger wasn't going along with Marilyn's plans, when the exact opposite was true. So he might as well tell him what had been on his mind.

Badger pulled himself to sit up again before he started his explanation. This got Crow's attention. The stout leader leaned forward from where he sat on the mattress in the middle of the floor.

“I think Mal's doing a great job, not gonneh let bias stand in the way of that,” he assured, “But I doun't reckon this way is the reet way fer me. She's making sure that everyone is where they're needed, it's very... um, yer know... efficient? Yeah, that's it. But it seems that where I'm needed is in the workshop and I'm not good at that at all. I want t' be running on the rooftops again! I feel so bored and useless stuck indoors...”

“It's not wot I'd 'ave ya doin',” Crow agreed.

“Yer always good at letting everyone do what they're best at doing,” Badger praised, “It's just that... I reckon Marilyn wants t' show us that sometimes we need t' do stuff we're not best at. They've even 'ad Tony digging through the tips with Scraps.”

“I've seen that, yeah,” hummed Crow.

“I get it, I do get it...” sighed Badger, “But I'm not 'appy like this. I couldn't do this all the time. If it were for more than just a week I'd go propeh barmy.”

“Tomorrah's the day o' the auction though, ain't it?” Crow checked, “If ya gonna be back on the streets at all then it'll be then.”

“I 'ope so,” mumbled Badger, “Reet now I'd do anything t' dress up as the Black Raven and jump about the rooftops.”

“Ya should tell Marilyn that,” instructed Crow.

“But I thought yer wanted me t' go along with everything this week?” Badger reminded.

“Yeah, but this week is also about tryin' new ideas, ey?” prompted Crow, “If ya gonna speak out at all then now seems like the best time to start.”

“Is that an ordeh?” Badger checked.

“I can't give ya any ordahs this week, remembah? Ya gonna 'afta decide wot's best for yaself,” Crow reminded.

Badger felt so frustrated at him. He was being even more difficult than Marilyn right now. But at the same time he knew that Crow was right, so he didn't argue any further. Especially since he strongly felt as if Crow had been trying to point him in the right direction, despite claiming that the choice was his. He wouldn't have bothered bringing up Badger reasoning with Marilyn on this point if he didn't believe that it was the best option.

So the next morning Badger went to find Marilyn with that in mind. He got up early, which wasn't unusual either for him or Marilyn, but this time he went to find her at her family's market stall instead of Barde Manor. There'd be no point in walking all the way up there if Badger didn't intend to stick around.

In truth, Badger hadn't put much thought into what Marilyn had done about the fruit stall this week. Needing to keep an eye on her family's business was what had always kept her from being more involved in many of the Black Raven's activities in the past. But since she'd been getting ready for the auction he had only seen her getting on with the tasks involved with doing exactly that. She hadn't even mentioned the stall at all.

When Badger got to the stall he felt as if he had almost walked in on a conversation he shouldn't have. He froze up as he saw that Gus was already there talking with Marilyn, both of them looking concerned about something.

“Dad does say he can run the stall in the afternoon, but he needs to make deliveries this morning,” Marilyn was telling Gus, “He's been very good about it, but he can't keep putting them off for my sake.”

“Then I'll look after the stall until he can take over,” Gus insisted.

“I can't let you do that. You're needed as much as the others,” debated Marilyn.

Gus shook his head; “I'm kind of not right now. We finished getting all the items ready for auction yesterday and the room's all set out. Heh, lugging around furniture is my thing, isn't it? But since I'm not needed to do that then I might as well help here. You're much more needed amongst the group than I am today.”

“It would be a big help...” admitted Marilyn, “And it'd only be for this morning.”

“As soon as your dad gets back, I'll join the rest of you. But right now you should concentrate on the auction. Don't even think about the fruit stall for now, I'll take care of everything,” Gus said.

“...Thanks Gus, I really do appreciate this,” concluded Marilyn. She nodded towards him then turned to walk away, getting no more than a few feet before she ran into Badger. Her eyes widened in surprise; “Oh, hey Badger! I thought I'd meet you up at the manor.”

Badger swallowed heavily. Suddenly his little annoyance at being stuck in that one room fixing knick-knacks for a week felt very trivial in comparison to what Marilyn was going through. Everything she'd been doing this week she'd done while balancing her family's work at the same time. To the point where it sounded like her dad, who was usually kept busy enough caring for her mum, had stepped in to take over the stall a lot more than usual. And now even Gus was helping out. How could he be so selfish...?

“I-I wanted t' talk... um, about the auction, like,” he whispered.

“Something on your mind?” Marilyn prompted.

Just like that, she was back to bright smiles and soft, encouraging words. It dawned on Badger that Marilyn must have so many problems, but she always acted as if she didn't for all of their sakes. They truly were lucky to have someone as amazing as her in their group.

“...It doun't matteh actually,” dismissed Badger, all the confidence now drained from him.

“It must matter if you've come all this way to talk to me,” reasoned Marilyn, “Come on, tell me what's been bothering you.”

There was no getting out of this. Badger took a deep breath.

“Okay... well, I c-can't stay up at the Bardes' anymore. I'm sorreh, but being cooped up in that room doun't feel reet and I just want t' be back 'ere, Mal. So please, just let me do the rooftops today. I'll get so many people talking about the auction by running about as the Black Raven, I promise I will,” he pleaded.

Marilyn kept smiling and Badger could have sworn he saw a glint in her eyes.

“Sure, that seems like a good idea for today,” she confirmed.

“Wh-what... just like that?” checked Badger.

“Yeah, we need the attention today,” Marilyn replied, “Besides, you all pretty much finished the repair work yesterday. Combined with all the goods that Scraps and Tony have been finding I reckon we have enough to make a very successful auction now. But it'll be no good if everyone forgets about us. So get your costume on and give it a run about the roofs, Badger.”

“Will do...!” gasped Badger, not able to hide how happy he was to hear these words, “A-and doun't worry, Mal – no one could eveh ferget about us. We're too amazing!”

“Can't argue with that,” Marilyn giggled, “Now off you go, before all the punters disappear off to work.”

Badger didn't need to be told twice. He gave Marilyn a thankful smile and then darted away to fetch his outfit from the storage room at the back of the auction hall.

It felt good to hear the wind rushing past his ears as he ran there and back. Soon enough he'd be getting an even bigger rush from his old haunts on the rooftops. That was what he lived for. To Badger, there'd be no fun in being a Black Raven if he couldn't swoop and dart about. For those times he had not a care in the world. He could forget about all his problems and just focus on being free. It was about the only time people would point and stare at him without him feeling self-conscious. Because they were not truly judging him, but the Black Raven that Crow had created. They were impressed by it and in awe of how Badger could make it move like lightning. He loved that.

As Badger climbed up onto the rooftops he knew that he had to hurry. Precious time was already ticking by until he missed the morning rush and all the potential customers would have disappeared to work. After that it'd be a while before the tourists began milling through the streets, having woken up from their night's rest at the hotel in North Ely.

So he quickly got to work dashing about the rooftops, jumping across the beaten routes that he'd travelled so many times before. It felt good to put his feet on those ledges and tiles again. And fortunately it seemed that he hadn't missed too much of the morning rush, as many of the people who lived in the houses around the market were greeted by the sight of the Black Raven.

“Look up there! Haven't seen him in a while!”

“Must be an auction today.”

“Good thing I've been saving for it, rumour has it this is going to be a big one.”

“Hey, is that another one?”

“Don't be daft, there's only one Black Raven.”

That last exchange caught Badger's attention as well. He looked around nearby and sure enough he caught sight of a second Black Raven disappearing down behind one of the houses.

Badger didn't know what to make of that. Whenever they ran out in the open as a team they always carefully planned who would appear where at what time. Because while they did want to give the impression that the Black Raven had otherworldly speed, the effect would be ruined if everyone knew there was more than one of them. Of course the punters themselves were now already well aware of this from the increased security at the auctions, but not all the other people on the streets who weren't part of the auctions. It wouldn't do well if this became common knowledge, especially if the Chippe boys from the police station started to view them as being a gang.

Badger gave chase to the rogue Black Raven. But as he dipped down the same way, it seemed he was a little too late. The figure had headed around the corner and into a more exposed area of the street.

“Oi! What... I mean, wot do ya think ya doin'!” called Badger. All of them had to keep up the Black Raven's voice as best they could in the outfit, with this being an exaggeration of Crow's own voice. It wasn't the easiest of feats.

He followed out into the street as well, but this time there was no second runner to be found. There was, however, a lot of people who were now pointing and staring at Badger.

“There he is! Hey Mr. Raven, what's up with this auction up at Barde Manor?” asked the nearest man.

Badger stammered and took a step backwards. But then he sighted the other Black Raven, who had climbed back up onto the roofs across the streets. None of the people were looking over there right now, but it was still too much of a risk to have someone rushing about unchecked.

“C-come tonight an' ya'll find out!” proclaimed Badger. He instantly felt bad after that, because he was pretty sure Crow didn't say 'ya'll'.

Before there was time for any more questions from the people surrounding him, Badger pushed through the crowd and headed off in the direction he'd seen the offending Black Raven go. No one could outrun Badger, so he had faith that as soon as it was just the two of them on a good stretch of rooftop that he'd catch up and find out what this person was playing at.

But it turned out to not be that easy. The second Black Raven worked around the market in a twisted fashion, making sure to go to places that were more visible to the public, where Badger would hesitate to follow. Of course Badger never gave up the chase, but his moments of uncertainty were enough to keep his prey ahead of him.

After a while of chasing, Badger seemed to lose sight of the second Black Raven completely. He hurried through all the likely places, eventually passing by Tony and Scraps, who were coming back into the market from what Badger assumed was a trip up to Barde Manor.

“Is something the matter?” Scraps sharply called over.

“Y-yeh...” panted Badger, briefly dropping any attempt to mimic Crow's voice, “There's someone running about in a costume unchecked. They could ruin it fer us all if they're caught.”

“We did see another Black Raven, but we thought that they were there under orders,” Tony revealed, “They were headed up towards the crossroads in town. I guess we do get a lot of customers from- ...Hey! Badger?”

Without waiting for Tony to finish, Badger had sprinted off upon finding out where the culprit was going. He made a mental note to apologise to Tony later, but right now he needed to catch up before it was too late.

They just didn't parade around as the Black Raven outside the market! What was this person thinking?

At least Badger was lucky that, outside of a few sharp turns, the route out of the market, over the rope bridges and up to the crossroads was pretty straight. He could pick up speed there and hopefully close the gap that had been created between the two of them.

Once he reached the crossroads, Badger looked around from side to side. The only person there was a boy called Sean, who Badger only knew of as being a friend of Tony's. Upon seeing the Black Raven, Sean squeaked and pointed upwards, where the path lead to the posher parts of town. Badger made the Black Raven give Sean a small nod and then ran off that way, hoping that Sean was indeed indicating where he'd seen another Black Raven headed off to.

And sure enough, once Badger got to the second set of crossroads he caught a glimpse of the culprit as they headed along to North Ely. By the time Badger caught up, they had climbed onto some of the rooftops that connected to Great Ely Street, one of the more populated districts in Misthallery. That was completely uncharted territory for their group. Badger knew that if he followed up those rooftops there was a risk that he could mess up, simply because he didn't have a clear idea where he was going.

But he also couldn't stay standing there on ground level. There were already a few people starting to gather around and since this was a nicer neighbourhood, the police were more present here than they were at the market. The sooner Badger could catch his prey the better.

So against his better judgement he followed up onto the roof. The air was the first thing to hit him, as the town was built on a hill and the higher you went the fresher it generally was. He took as much of a gulp of it as he could manage from behind the mask and then pressed forward. Looking about for the other person as he went.

Down on the streets he was certainly getting more attention than he would have done at the market. Even those who were familiar with the auctions knew that the Black Raven didn't venture this far. As Badger hunted, he heard many mesmerised comments carry up towards him on the breeze.

“I told you something different was happening with this auction. I told you!”

“This must be the Bardes' doing. I bet those kids are funding the Black Raven now.”

“Whatever it is, this must mean the auction is going to be special.”

“Yeah, wouldn't want to miss it. This might be a once in a lifetime chance.”

If nothing else, at least this stunt was getting them some attention. Given the way a lot of these people were talking, it sounded as if the Black Ravens had become better known around here than Badger had expected. It would probably be worth discussing that with the others later.

All the same, he couldn't say that he appreciated the other Black Raven for being so reckless. Sadly it did seem as if they had a better knowledge of North Ely than Badger did, which meant that they weren't as easy to catch as they might have been back in the market, where Badger was more familiar with the streets. He could have kicked himself for not catching them back there, when he had a better chance.

After a chase that seemed to go on for far too long, Badger eventually spotted the second Black Raven disappear down by a small stream. He followed along, but then paused as he saw them head off into a tunnel that led under some of the houses.

“You'll never catch him now.”

Badger turned around to see that the person goading him was one of the lads who were local around here. Charlie, a fluffy-haired boy dressed in cream, who Badger had always assumed was about the same age as him.

Ignoring his words, Badger looked back towards the tunnel. He was wasting precious time by being held up like this.

“I've been watching you both run about up there,” Charlie went on, “He knows these streets better than you do. And if you go down in that awful, filthy tunnel then you won't catch him. Not that I can guess why anyone would want to go in there anyway.”

With a heavy sigh, Badger concluded that Charlie was right. He didn't know which of the Black Ravens he was chasing, but he could tell that they knew this area. Badger had no idea what that tunnel held, but today was probably not the time to find out. And even if the other person did keep running around in the costume, if they stayed in this part of town and Badger at the market then they wouldn't cross paths again. If anything, Badger was the one exposing that the Black Raven as more than one person by staying in the same place. Which was just what he wanted to avoid doing.

Giving up the chase for lost, Badger turned again to dart by Charlie and back down the path he'd came from the market. As he left, he could have sworn he heard Charlie call something to the effect of “And stay out!”. Undoubtedly the people who lived around there were going to be hearing about how Charlie saved North Ely from the wicked Black Raven for a while to come.

When he reached the market, Badger was greeted by Gus, who led him into a back alley where he could pull off the Black Raven robes without fear of being caught.

“Are you all right? Scraps and Tony said you went up to the crossroads following another Black Raven,” Gus said, as he kept watch out on the streets to make sure no one would walk in on Badger's less-than-magical transformation.

“Yeah, they went all the way up t' North Ely, but I lost them afteh that,” answered Badger. It was an abridged version of events, but Badger didn't feel like getting into details.

“I suppose we'll just have to hope for the best. Not much we can do about it now,” Gus replied, “Marilyn's dad came back to the stall, so she sent me out looking for you. Now that everyone's talking about the Black Raven again we all need to focus on getting the manor perfect for when the guests arrive.”

“But there's still bags of time left fer that,” reasoned Badger, “If I 'ead back in now then we'll miss the aftehnoon tourists gan about the market.”

Gus turned to look at him now that the Black Raven was tucked away in a bag. Not that Badger had understood the modesty, given that he was only wearing his own clothes under the outfit, just like they all always did, but Gus was like that.

“They've already been and gone, Badger,” Gus informed, “You were away for so long that we had to get Roddy to do the rounds here.”

A sinking feeling settled into Badger's stomach. He'd messed up. All he'd been trying to do was help the group by catching someone who was going against orders, but he'd left his post and someone else had needed to cover for him because of that.

“I'm sorreh...”

He'd have to apologise to Roddy when he saw him. As well as to Tony for being rude. And tell everyone that they're apparently better known in the richer parts of Misthallery than they realised. There was just so much to make up for...

“There's no need to be sorry, Tony's friend Sean told him that everyone up there is buzzing about the auction now,” Gus soothed, “I reckon you did more good than anything else, even if it wasn't planned.”

“I 'ope so,” whispered Badger.

“Better not stick around too long though, we want to get to Barde Manor before the punters start hanging about the place,” hurried Gus.

Without needing to be told twice, Badger followed along as the two of them made their trip to the auction. He took a brief detour to drop his costume off at Crow's house, since it didn't take as much time to get there than it would to head all the way back through the tunnel to the auction hall's storage room. Neither Crow nor Maureen seemed to be in the house when he got there. Perhaps they'd gone out somewhere together today, since Badger could imagine that Crow would have to properly force himself not to get involved in tonight's auction. Regardless, he didn't dwell on it too much before he rejoined Gus on the streets and the two of them set out to attend the Black Ravens' first auction without Crow.

Tonight Badger would find out for certain if they truly could do this without him...


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The auction presses on despite the problems that Badger's mistake have presented. But then again, Badger might not be the true reason behind those faults at all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back when I first posted this chapter I had a couple of people asking about Umid returning in response to the previous chapter. I can say for definite that Umid will be coming back and we're not a million miles away from that point, but sadly it's not during Act Two. Though given that the chapter after this one is the final part of Act Two, there isn't too much longer to wait for him.

The path up to Barde Manor wasn't as smooth as either Badger or Gus had been expecting. They'd hoped to get there before the crowds started gathering, but it was already much too late for that. There were people wandering with intent long before the two of them had even reached the dam.

“It's ages until the auction starts, what're they doing gan up this earleh?” whispered Badger, as the two of them weaved through the crowd.

“I don't know, but I'm seeing a lot of faces that I'm pretty sure have never gone to the auctions before,” Gus answered, “I can't say for sure, since it's generally Marilyn or Crow's job to pick customers out, but I've got a feeling that a lot of these people haven't passed the Black Raven's test.”

Badger gulped; “Th-that would be terrible...”

They picked out the customers the way they did for many reasons. And one of the most important ones was to maintain their secrecy. Anyone who cared enough to go through the challenge of finding the medals clearly wanted the auctions enough to respect the rules they had in regards to them. But if everyone in Misthallery knew, well, it could only spell out trouble.

Now Badger was so distracted by looking around the crowds that he walked right into old Joe, who owned the hotel in North Ely.

“Watch where you're going, lad. This is no place for children,” he scolded.

“Sorreh, m-my mistake...” mumbled Badger.

“Actually Joe, maybe you could tell us what's going on here,” Gus cut in, before Badger could dart away, “We were just heading up to see the Bardes and we didn't expect to run into so much of a crowd.” Technically he wasn't lying about going to see Tony and Arianna, even if it wasn't the whole truth.

“Haven't you heard? I guess you lot do tend to keep to the market most days,” replied Joe, “Well, it turns out there's some fancy auction being held up at Barde Manor. I didn't know anything about it, but then the customers started coming to the hotel all in a flutter about some guy in a costume who's been seen running around the rooftops. Apparently he's the mascot for this auction and now half of Misthallery wants a piece of it. I couldn't resist coming to have a look for myself.”

Badger felt like the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. All these people were here because of his chasing the other Black Raven. They'd been keeping the auctions a secret from many for years and now, because of this one mistake, there was a risk that everyone in town might find out about them.

“What if you can't get in when you get up there?” Gus pressed.

Joe shrugged; “Won't hurt to try, will it?”

“I guess not,” agreed Gus, “Anyway, thanks for telling us what's going on. We better be heading off now.”

“Good luck getting up there if you want to see those Barde siblings,” Joe called after them.

The two of them moved away from the crowd as best they could before speaking again. It wasn't possible to get too much privacy, given that there were a lot of people and only one path, so they were sure to keep quiet when talking.

“What are we ganna do?” hissed Badger.

“I don't think there's much we can do,” Gus sighed, “Let's just make our way up to the manor without attracting too much attention and see what Marilyn says.”

With that, they made their way slowly along the rest of the path. The closer they got to Barde Manor the tighter the crowds weaved together, making it harder to push through. At least when they got as far as the garden they were able to break away from everyone and head for the tower around the side of the house. It was little known to anyone but the Bardes themselves, and now also the Black Ravens, but the tunnel that connected the tower to the house could still be used to go from one to the other if you knew the way. Given that getting through the front door would have been impossible, Badger and Gus knew that they had no other choice.

Once inside they pelted along the hallway to the room that had been set up for the auction. Sure enough, the others were all waiting for them inside and a definite air of worry was hanging in the air.

“That's all of us then,” Roddy muttered.

“I'm guessing that we don't need to tell you what's going on outside?” checked Gus.

“No, we've all seen it,” assured Scraps, “And many of those people had never heard of the Black Raven before today. It does seem there are a lot of tourists amongst them, but I'm willing to bet that plenty more locals know about us now.”

“You're right about that. We even saw Joe from the hotel on the way up. And it's rare for him to leave his business for anything. Not even the spectre could shift him back when the Descole stuff happened,” Gus said.

“This is awful! What are we going to do?” wailed Tony. He threw his hands up over his ears as if he was about to have a panic attack. Arianna quickly put her arms around him to calm him down.

“It's not awful. It's unplanned, yes, but not awful,” corrected Marilyn. They all turned to look at her. She was the only one who could give them directions now; “This room is big enough to fit maybe half of those people in? If we work it out then we could do the auctions in two or three lots, rotating the customers as we go.”

“You want us to just go ahead with this?” Roddy checked.

“When in Rome, Rod,” confirmed Marilyn, “We might have some problems to deal with afterwards, but right now we'd be foolish to turn so many customers away. All we can do is carry on and hope for the best.”

“M-mebbe we could get Crow...?” Badger suggested, “I know this week was about proving we could do this without 'im, b-but this is way biggeh than we thought it'd be. I'm sure 'e'd undehstand if we called 'im back because of this.”

“No, we're not getting Crow,” Arianna sternly replied, “If we admit defeat now then he'll never give us another chance. Yes, we might sink and let him see that we couldn't do it anyway, but if we swim then there'll be no doubt that we can handle anything these auctions throw at us.”

“Arianna's got the right idea. Now, the rest of you need to go and get changed into your costumes,” instructed Marilyn, “I want Badger, Roddy and Scraps to then take up the positions in here, as we practised. Gus, Tony and myself will be stationed at different parts of the hallway to make sure everyone gets to this room without wandering elsewhere in the manor. Arianna, since this is your home, would you do the honours of letting them in?”

“With pleasure,” Arianna confirmed, “I'll give you all five minutes to get ready before the doors open.”

No one needed to be told twice. They all darted to get the outfits that had been prepared for them. The one Badger had been given was much cleaner than the copy he'd left back at Crow's house, which would need a good wash after all the running he'd done in it today. He tried not to think about how much trouble his running had caused as he pulled on the outfit and took his position at the side of the hall.

They had half the amount of Black Ravens in the room that they expected to have when they rehearsed, but it would have been impossible to make tonight work without a few of them free to move about independently of the plans. On top of that, they did have Roddy in the auction room with them and he'd already proven that he could handle any rowdiness in the crowds. That was probably why Marilyn had wanted him to stay there specifically.

The five minutes seemed to pass all too swiftly and before Badger knew it he could hear footsteps thundering through the halls. They arrived to the room in a thankfully more organised fashion than how they'd been hanging around outside, so he could only assume that the other four had managed to keep them in line. Either way Badger stood as still as he could until they were all inside, giving the impression of a confident Black Raven. He definitely wished that he could feel like one right now, that was for sure...

By the time the first lot were in the room it was so full that they couldn't even shut the doors. Badger had never seen anything like this, even at their busiest auctions. Their guests were all stood up, packed together like sardines, but it didn't seem to do anything to deter how eager they were. Badger noted that no one had even bothered to pass around paddles for bidding – there were too many people for that. They'd all just have to raise their hands and hope for the best.

Marilyn allowed the crowd some time to simmer before she took to the stage as the Black Raven. She held herself differently to how Crow would in the outfit and so it was clear to any of their regulars that she was not the same Black Raven that they were use to. But then Badger knew that they'd come to this auction expecting change. That and there were so many people there who weren't their regulars, so maybe it wouldn't matter anyway.

“Thank you all for taking time from your busy lives to come here this evening,” Marilyn greeted, not making any attempt to imitate Crow's voice, “I am aware that due to the demand of tonight's auction, sadly everyone won't be able to see everything we have to offer. But all the same I hope the selection that we show you will be enough to get you excited. Now, if you'd all turn your heads to the centre of the stage, one of my assistants is bringing through our first item for today. An antique Georgian folding table that I know at least a few of you have expressed interest in.”

The table was brought through by two Black Ravens who Badger knew had to be Scraps and Gus. Marilyn started the bidding quite high, but that didn't deter the customers at all. It was true that many of the regulars had been told about this item beforehand, so they were eager to have it for themselves. At this stage most of the newcomers were merely watching, but it did set the standards for what was expected of them.

In the end the table went to a large man with a Yorkshire accent, who Badger had seen at a few auctions before. He wasn't from Misthallery, but would sometimes visit the auctions if he was passing through and always spent large amounts of money on some of the tackiest items. The Black Ravens were always happy to see him.

Directly following the the sale of the expensive table, Marilyn had the others bring out a lot that was much lower in value. A set of fine glass goblets that looked nice, even if they weren't actually worth all that much. This allowed for the others to all have a go at bidding. Many of them seemed to not know how the game worked, but they soon got into it. In the end the goblets went to a nice local lady called Jasmine. Badger hoped that she could afford it without too much trouble.

The bidding went on with a mixture of items that varied in value. It was a usual tactic of the Black Ravens to keep the punters guessing and probably paying more for the cheaper goods than they were actually worth. It was a method certainly seemed to work here.

In what seemed like no time at all they'd already gone through fifteen lots and Marilyn was wrapping up the first batch of auctions to move onto a new crowd.

“I hope that you've all enjoyed what we have to offer,” Marilyn announced, “These auctions are usually a much more exclusive gathering, but for tonight we wanted to give all of Misthallery a taster of our offerings. If you truly crave more auctions, then perhaps you should venture into the market. We are happy to welcome those who seek us out.”

So that's what she was doing! Marilyn was making it out as if this big mistake was part of the plan. Even if all of town did find out what they were doing, it would still be known that the Black Raven was a gathering for the few and only the people who truly wanted these auctions would be invited. Badger let out a little sigh of relief, which fortunately went unnoticed to the crowd.

“Now, those of you who have won lots this evening will be led through to another room by our friend, Arianna Barde, where you can arrange to collect your items. If the rest of you could make your way out of the manor so that the next bidders can come through then we'd be most grateful,” Marilyn concluded.

The crowd ebbed out without incident, a few of them breaking away to follow Arianna. The Yorkshireman had won many of the more expensive auctions, so there were much less than fifteen people actually going to collect their goods. All the same, Badger found himself happy to see that a few faces he knew from around town had won. They'd never been people who the Black Ravens had considered inviting before, since they were always cautious with locals, but maybe if they turned up more often it wouldn't be a bad thing.

Once the room was empty again, Marilyn had a short stretch of time to address the others before the second wave came through.

“We've worked it out that there'll be three groups overall,” she informed, “The next one will be about the same size as the one we've just had, but the last one will be smaller. I'd have liked to have done it in two, but there were just too many people for that. We also have no choice but to let people in on a first come first served basis, so who knows what each of these groups will bring.”

“It doesn't matter, we'll be ready for them no matter what,” assured Roddy.

“I have no doubt that you will,” Marilyn agreed, “But for now, everyone back into character, it sounds like the next lot are coming through.”

Sure enough, as soon as each of the Black Ravens had stood up to attention, another chattering group of people made their way through the doors. If anything, these ones were even more eager than the first, after being made to wait outside for so long.

“It was so nice of that Tony to offer drinks around while we waited,” Badger heard a woman called Mimi tell her husband, “This garden seems like it'd be such a nice place to sit and relax on a warm summer's day. Maybe we could even bring our little lamb up here someday.”

“Yes, that would save money on getting Sean to babysit,” grumbled Greppe, her well-meaning but very abrupt husband.

From the sounds of it, Tony had managed to get the crowds outside under control without prompting from Marilyn. Badger was glad to hear that. Just so long as the Bardes didn't run out of orange juice before the night was through it should be fine.

Marilyn welcomed the second group in the same way as the first, changing only a few words of her speech to thank them for their patience. And even though the wares they were bidding for were different this time, the pattern went in much the same way. People got confused and excited and bid higher and higher, competing with each other fiercely until the lots were through. Badger almost got dizzy watching them, so he was glad when they finally milled out to the same tune as before.

“Only one to go...” Scraps sighed.

“You're all doing so well,” praised Marilyn, “I know this auction has already gone on much longer than any of the others and we've still got another fifteen lots to go, but we can make it. We took a road-block that could have marked the end for tonight and worked it into something as organised as this.”

“Yer the one that did that,” Badger stated, “We'd neveh 'ave made it this far if it weren't fer yer.”

“I'm glad that you have faith in me, Badger,” Marilyn replied. And it sounded as if she genuinely was; “But it was always us as a team that brought us this far. Maybe I had the ideas, but there was no way we could have done this without all of us.”

Badger nodded in the Black Raven mask; “I see that now...”

And he really did. That was what this week had been all about – proving that they were a team who could work together, even without Crow. All this time Badger hadn't wanted to believe that, but in his heart he knew that it was true. He had just been too scared of losing Crow to admit it.

“Wind in the sap, here comes the punters!” Scraps called.

Each of them hurried back into position before their final batch of customers made their way through. This time there were thankfully a lot less of them. Gus was even able to close the door behind them as they came in. The room still filled out nicely though. Badger reckoned that the amount of people they had here was closer to what they'd normally have at one of their richer auctions. They could have passed around the the bidding paddles this time if they wanted, but it felt too late for that.

“Our final guests for the evening,” Marilyn welcomed, “We thank you indeed for having the patience to stick around as long as you have. Ideally this would not be how our auctions would run, as some of you well know, but our intention today was to give Misthallery a taste of what is on offer if they come to look for us. We are as much a part of your lore as the Golden Garden is and for too long we've kept ourselves from you. So we can only hope that what we show you now will be worth all the waiting you've done for us. Now, without further delays, let's get to our first item...”

The bidding settled in as usual. Badger felt himself relax a little as the first few lots went through. Eventually one came out that Badger recognised as the Victorian teddy bear that he's repaired earlier in the week and a sense of pride hit him. Maybe he wasn't the best at repair work, but he did feel that he'd done a good enough job with a lot of the trinkets that had been on sale today. Thanks to him, the Black Ravens had made a lot of money. He should probably start thinking about what he did with that kind of self-satisfaction more often.

He got so lost in his moment of fuzzy warmth that he managed to miss the first bid for the bear. But he didn't miss the head of Roddy's mask jerk down into the crowd. Roddy was standing on the opposite side of the room to Badger, so he was in plain sight even when Badger hadn't been paying attention.

Badger tried to scan the room for what had caught Roddy's notice, but by now the second bid was already being called out.

“I'll pay £50 for it!”

He recognised that voice. Badger was just in time to spot Charlie's hand lowering from within the sea of people. What was that North Ely snob doing here? He'd always acted as if he had no interest in anything like this.

But if Badger thought that Charlie's presence was what had surprised Roddy then he was soon proven wrong.

“In that case, I'm raisin' my bid to £75!”

Now that was a voice Badger knew without a doubt. His heart thumped in his chest as he finally caught sight of Crow within the crowd. He was dressed in plain clothing, minus his usual hat and scarf. How had he managed to slip in without being seen? Was he even allowed to be here? It was hard to tell what any of the other Black Ravens' reactions to it were, given that their faces were hidden behind the masks. But regardless, Marilyn didn't call off his bid. How could she without raising attention to the rest of the guests that something wasn't right here?

“Make my bid £100!” Charlie called out.

“Do ya parents really give ya that much pocket money, Charles?” Crow teased, “All right then, £150!”

“£175 and that's my final offer!” Charlie bleated, his face red from embarrassment.

“£200!”

“What? Are you kidding me! That thing isn't worth that much!” snarled Charlie, as he glared over at Crow.

“It is down to our customers how much each lot is worth,” Marilyn proclaimed from up on the stage, “Each item has different meaning to different people. So if you're not going to raise your bid then step back so that others can.”

“Gaaah, okay then, I bid £225...” grumbled Charlie.

“£250,” chimed Crow, without missing a beat.

“£275...!” Charlie shot. It was obvious now that this was only about him not wanting Crow to outmatch him when it came to money. His pride as a middle-class citizen of a better part of town was on the line.

“£350,” Crow hummed.

“Oh, forget you! You're just showing off!” cried Charlie.

Crow put a hand on his hip and coolly replied, “Just 'ow can I be showin' off when ya've already seen there are goods 'ere that go into four-figures by the time the biddin' is through. The fact o' the mattah is that only the two o' us are interested in this lot, so it just comes down to who wants it more.”

It was hard for Badger to make out from where he was standing, but it almost looked as if Charlie was blinking back angry tears. Clearly Crow had won this round.

“Fine, take your stupid bear!” Charlie snapped, “I hope it helps you sleep at night!”

“Are there any further bids for this item?” Marilyn asked, trying to bring order back into the room. After a short pause, she deemed that no one was going to top Crow's offer, so she concluded the sale; “...Very well then, the Victorian teddy goes for £350 to the smug guy in the red vest.”

Badger half expected Charlie to storm right out of the room, but somehow he managed to keep his temper in the face of Crow's cool grin. The rest of the night went without too much trouble, though neither Crow nor Charlie bid on anything else. Which was probably for the best, since most of the other sets were for furniture and those tended to go for a lot more money than the trinkets did.

All of them kept an eye on Crow. It was hard not to. But he stared pointedly up at the stage, never taking his eyes off Marilyn doing what was usually his job.

By the end of the final auction, Badger couldn't wait for everyone to leave so they could all pull Crow aside to find out what he was playing at.

“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Marilyn said to the room, as Gus opened the door ready for them to leave, “I hope that what we've provided you with has been an education as much as it has an experience. Our auctions might not be for everyone...” She purposely turned the head of her outfit to linger on Charlie as she said this; “...But for those who have enjoyed this brief taste of what we have to offer, we would be glad for you to seek us out in the market. The most determined of you will find the way. Now, if those among you who have won during any of the auctions tonight would like to follow Arianna Barde into the next room, we can discuss your items' collection. And to the rest of you, we shall say a good evening as you are shown out back the way you came.”

It was Tony who showed them out, not in his Black Raven outfit this time. Badger figured that he must have left it somewhere when he decided to hand out refreshments. At least the Barde siblings could get away with being out of costume in their own home without attracting too much suspicion.

A few of the group made to follow Arianna to the next room to collect their goods, but Crow didn't make it that far.

“Not you, sir. You stay here,” Marilyn called, barely keeping up her Black Raven act as she addressed him.

“Wot about my prize?” Crow quizzed.

“We got your teddy right here,” assured Roddy. He tossed the bear over to Crow, who caught it effortlessly; “Now you'd better pay up for it. And for the damage you've caused today.”

Gus firmly shut the door behind the last of the guests. Now they could talk freely. Each of them walked over to Crow, taking their masks off as they did.

“I'm gonna pay for it, I promise,” Crow told them, “I wouldn't bid just to show off.”

“Everything you do is to show off,” Roddy reminded.

“All right, ya got me there. But no 'arm no foul, right?” offered Crow.

“No Crow, there's been plenty of harm done today!” Roddy snapped, pressing in close to Crow's face, “All of Misthallery is going to know about us now, just because you couldn't hold back your jealousy that we might be able to do this without you!”

“That weren't Crow's fault!” Badger cried, “I were the one who went up t' the posh ends of town flaunting around the Black Raven!”

“...And who do you think you were chasing?” Roddy asked, his eyes never leaving Crow.

Badger too turned to look at Crow. Their leader didn't flinch or make any attempts to deny what he'd done. It had been him...?

“No, that doun't make any sense!” Badger retorted, “The person I was gan afteh knew North Ely realleh well...”

“Crow used to live there years ago, when he was a kid,” revealed Roddy, “Bet you didn't know that. You only moved here when your old man got a job in the factory and Crow was already living in the market by that point. But before his mum got kicked out her nice house, he was Thomas from North Ely.”

“Doun't call 'im Thomas!” Badger scolded. He knew that only Maureen was allowed to call Crow that.

“Calm down, Badge', 'e's right,” sighed Crow, “It was me who ya chased around earliah.”

“No...”

Badger lurched forward, pushing past Roddy to grab Crow by his collar.

“...Why would yer do that t' me? Why would yer do that t' all of us!” he demanded.

Crow withered under Badger's glare, only just managing to keep hold of the bear that he had yet to pay for. And Badger had a few choice words for him about wasting money on something like that as well.

“I-I... thought it'd be good...” mumbled Crow, “I knew that ya could do this easily, all o' ya. Mal knew that she wouldn't really be provin' anythin' to me by doin' the auction as ya were gonna, even with both our usual crowds combined. But if somethin' unplanned was to 'appen... I wanted to know ya could 'andle it.”

“And we did,” Marilyn pointed out, “We made it through with flying colours. Even you can see that.”

“Yeah, I can,” promised Crow, “I'm proud to call everyone o' ya a Black Raven.”

“It's not as rosy as all that though,” Roddy pointed out, “Maybe we did get through tonight and proved to you everything that we can do, but this is gonna have lasting damage, Crow. All of Misthallery is going to find out about us now and there's only so much we can do to control who can get in. You've dropped us in it right before you leave and that isn't fair.”

“Badge', um, can ya put me down?” Crow asked, awkwardly.

“Y-yeah...”

He lowered Crow down again with trembling hands and stepped back so that Crow could walk over to Roddy.

“I'm not leavin' right away,” Crow said, “Don't worry about that. Look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush to any o' ya any more – everyone's figured out that I'm thinkin' about goin' away in future an' that this week was all about me needin' to see that ya can do this without me. But just 'cause I know that ya can do it, doesn't mean I'm gonna just shut up shop an' let ya get on with it like that. I'll 'elp fix the mess that I've made first. An' when I do decide to go, I'll give ya plenty o' notice an' get us all as ready for it as I can.”

“Good!” snorted Roddy.

“Thanks for this, everyone,” Crow went on. He turned to look at Marilyn, “...Especially you, Mal. Without ya I'd still be drownin' in a spiral o' not knowin' wot to do.”

“That's what I'm here for,” dismissed Marilyn, “I wouldn't mind a raise though, if you're offering.”

“I think we're all due one after this week,” Scraps agreed, “Good thing we can afford it right now, considering how well this auction went.”

“Maybe this time I'll even be able to buy Aunt Taffy out of sweets before Tony can,” Gus joked.

“All's well that ends well,” hummed Marilyn, “What about you, Badger?”

But Badger couldn't get into the jolly mood that everyone else seemed to have settled in. He felt used and betrayed. He'd been a pawn in Crow's plan to mess with them, because Crow knew that he could play Badger so effortlessly. And on top of that, Crow had now said in his own words that he definitely was planning to leave. It didn't matter what Badger was also planning to do, because apparently Crow was fine with heading off without him. Badger was just someone else who'd needed to prove to Crow that he could manage without him. That hurt so, so much.

“Yer betteh pay fer that bear,” Badger snapped, still looking at Crow and not Marilyn, “I made it fer someone who'd love it and care fer it. Not fer yer.”

The door creaked open behind them.

“That's most of them gone. Arianna's just arranging for some of the furniture to be picked up with a few of the last customers,” Tony explained, as he came inside, “...Is everything all right?”

Badger caught Scraps mouthing 'bad time' to Tony as he turned around, but right now he didn't care. He couldn't stay here any longer than he already had.

Without so much as a backwards glance at Crow, he walked out of the room and left.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badger feels betrayed my Crow's actions and seeks out someone who he needs to talk to before Crow leaves. But he's not the only person who wants to have that conversation, as he soon learns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final part of Act Two! Next time this story updates it will be to move onto Act Three. But before that I'll be posting a side-story called Advice from the Market Stall, which covers some of Marilyn's off-screen actions during Act Two.

No one stopped Badger from leaving the manor and that was probably a good thing. He didn't want to talk or be reasonable right now. Instead he wanted to fester in his anger at how Crow had used him to test the Black Ravens.

Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, hadn't that always been what their relationship was about? Badger had been an idiot to think that over the months he'd lived in Crow's house that the two of them might have built up a more genuine bond or that Crow would ever truly learn to respect him as a human being. He'd wanted to believe that Crow had started to be more open towards him, like he promised that he'd try to be, but that had to all be a farce.

They were tools to Crow. All of the Black Ravens. Maybe he didn't mean it that way and he wanted to be their friend as well, but right now it felt to Badger as if they were being finished with and tossed aside so that Crow could move onto something new. The tools had been made into a machine that could work itself – they didn't need Crow to operate them any more. And they'd spent this week trying so hard to prove to Crow exactly that...

But in reality, that wasn't what was bothering Badger. Not really. No matter how Crow leaving came across to him or the others, it wasn't surprising at this point. They'd all known it was coming and Marilyn had worked on this massive plan of hers to prove to Crow that it was okay if he did leave. Even Badger knew that their leader would be stifling his potential if he remained here with them forever.

No, the worst part to Badger was how he himself had been lumped in with those who needed to prove themselves to Crow. Of course Badger hadn't talked to Crow about his own intentions of going with him, but deep down he'd hoped that Crow would know Badger wanted that. Or better yet, that Crow wanted him to go along in the first place. Badger had deluded himself into thinking that he was special to Crow.

And today he had learned that he wasn't. He was just the same as everyone else. Now that he thought about it, forgetting Badger would be the best thing for Crow to do. After all, Crow was well aware of Badger's feelings for him, so getting away from that would mean that Crow was free from the guilt of probably not being able to return the attraction... Also, it would mean that Badger could stay here with Crow's mum, meaning Crow wouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on her. Badger would help support Maureen and in turn she would be the caring family-figure who had been missing from Badger's life since his own mam passed away. They would fill the voids in each other's heart and, as far as Crow was concerned, kill two birds with one stone.

Wouldn't that all be just peachy?

No, Badger wasn't having it. Not that he wanted to go away with Crow any more anyway. Nor did he want to blame any of this on Maureen, who had been nothing but kind to him. But he couldn't stay around Crow or his home any longer.

With that in mind, he made his way back to Crow's house. Maybe he didn't have a lot of belongings, but he'd pack what he did have and go somewhere else. Anywhere else. If they hadn't already sold on his dad's house then Badger could hide there for a while. Or at Louis's currently empty house for that matter. Heck, if nothing else worked out then Roddy had a spare room. Anything would be better than being in the lingering presence of Crow.

He marched through the front door and began to thunder his way up the stairs. However, he didn't get that far...

“Tom? Is that you?”

Badger froze for a moment. Then he turned slowly to be greeted by the worried face of Maureen, who'd just walked out of the living room.

“Oh, it's you, Badger,” she sighed. And after taking a moment to look at him properly she added, “...Is everything all right?”

There was a moment in which Badger considered saying that he was fine. However, this option was taken from him by the cracking in his voice when he opened his mouth. He quickly closed it again and shook his head violently.

“My poor dear! What has that horrible son of mine done to you now?” Maureen proclaimed.

She hurried up the stairs and put her arms around Badger. With gentle encouragement she led him back downstairs and through to the living room. At this point Badger was so worn by the day's events that he just let her walk him along. The two of them took a seat together on the battered old sofa.

“...W-what makes yer think it were Crow...?” Badger sniffed, once they were both seated.

“Only Thomas could make you feel this low. Trust me, I know,” tutted Maureen, “So go on then – tell me what it is this time.”

“It's... kind of more than a this time,” admitted Badger, “I'm sorreh Mrs. Carr, but I doun't think I can stay 'ere afteh this.”

He suddenly realised that he couldn't talk about the reason for his upset in too much detail without revealing that Crow was planning to leave Misthallery. And no matter how upset Badger was with him right now, it wouldn't be fair to drop him in it like that. Talking that subject through with his mother was down to Crow himself.

Though he quickly found of this didn't matter anyway, because Maureen was much sharper than either of them gave her credit for.

“This is about the two of you leaving, isn't it?” she checked.

“N-nah... Um, well... mebbe,” mumbled Badger, “Crow's the onleh one leavin' Mist'allereh, but I doun't think I can stay 'ere...”

“Don't be daft, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need, dear. I will not have you wandering the streets homeless,” scolded Maureen, “But it is a shame that you don't want to go with him. I know it's a big step, but getting out to see the world would be good for both of you.”

“It doun't matteh if it'd be good or not, because 'e doun't want me t' come,” Badger protested.

“He doesn't? Well that's not what I heard,” retorted Maureen.

“...Crow told yer summit?” asked Badger. Then, realising how bad that sounded, he added, “N-not that I mean 'e neveh tells yer stuff!”

“It's fine, poppet, I know what my son is like,” Maureen dismissed, “And no, he hasn't told me directly. I hope that he does before he disappears, because that would be nice. But I've been watching him plan for it, especially this week. In fact I even went out today to get some shopping ready for when it finally happens, since he'll never remember everything. But anyway, I could tell that he wanted you to go with him. In fact, I'd be more worried for him if you didn't. You're very good at keeping him grounded, so I'd think better if the two of you left together than if he left on his own.”

“I'm sorreh t' say this, Mrs. Carr, but I reckon yer wrong about that,” replied Badger, “Crow made it pretteh clear today that 'e doun't want anyone t' come with 'im... A-and I think th-that I'd just 'old 'im back if I did go.”

Maureen shook her head; “No, I'm right about this. I know that I am. But I can see you're worked up right now and maybe you'll look at all this better in the morning. So how about I make you a nice cuppa to warm you up inside and then you can go upstairs to get some rest.”

At this point Badger was too tired to argue, even if he didn't think Maureen was right about Crow on the matter. So he nodded mutely. Perhaps some tea would do him good. And he was kind of tired, now that he thought about it.

After the kettle was brewed, Maureen allows him to take the cup up to Crow's room. Badger only managed to drink half of it before putting it on the side and curling up in the small bed. He tucked his feet in close to his chest, which was about the only way that he could get around them poking out from the edge of the bed, even if it still wasn't the most comfortable. Then he lay there and listened, but up until he drifted off there was no sound of Crow returning.

By the time the next morning came and Badger awoke, he was still the only occupant in the room. It was possible that Crow had been back and merely left before Badger woke up, but given that Crow was the heavier sleeper between the two of them that was unlikely. So now Badger found himself hit with the worry that if Crow hadn't come home that night then where else could he have gone?

He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and grabbed the cup that held the now cold remains of his tea. With this in hand, he quickly made his way through to the kitchen to dump in the sink. Sure enough, Maureen was waiting there for him, but without any sign of Crow.

“I made you some toast, dear,” she greeted, “Now I know you're not a big eater, but I wanted you to have something warm for breakfast before you head out to face the world. What are your plans for today anyway?”

Badger had to think about that. After a moment, he reached a conclusion.

“I'm gan t'... um, go speak t' someone,” he answered, keeping it vague, “Right now I'm still not sure what t' do, but there's someone I reckon I need t' talk about it with eitheh way.”

“That sounds sensible,” Maureen agreed, “I just hope that you get the advice you need. And don't let Thomas pressure you, no matter what you choose.”

“Um, speakin' of T-thomas... did 'e come back last night?” checked Badger.

“No, I didn't see him,” Maureen replied, “Though don't worry about that, he often stays out, sometimes for days. That boy might have his head in the clouds most of the time, but he can look after himself well enough. I just wish he'd check in a bit more often...”

“If I see 'im I'll tell 'im to get 'is arse back 'ere,” promised Badger.

It didn't take him long to eat the toast after that. He wolfed it down much quicker than he probably should have, but right now he just wanted to be on his way without Maureen worrying about him. And Maureen's worrying had been exactly why he hadn't told her where he was going today.

Badger bid her farewell and headed out the door. Once he was in the open he made his way through the market and out across to the rope bridge. On the way he passed a few of the Black Ravens - Scraps was already rummaging through the rubbish from last night, while Marilyn and Gus gave Badger a wave from the fruit stall. Luckily none of them stopped him to talk about what happened yesterday, even though later he realised that he might have been able to find out where Crow had gone that way. But at the time he was too caught up with how bizarre it seemed that everything had so quickly gone back to normal with the others. They'd spent all of last week working out of routine to prove to Crow that they could do more than he expected of them and yet today you wouldn't have been able to tell that anything had changed at all. Maybe in some ways it hadn't.

Those thoughts kept him distracted as he went across the rope bridge and out of Misthallery itself. The next town over was a bit of a walk away, but the journey was one that most people who lived here were used to and Badger felt that having a quiet walk by himself might have been a good idea anyway.

Besides, going there was the only way that Badger could meet the person he needed to talk to right now.

Once he arrived, Badger knew the route to where he had to go, even if he hadn't done this walk without Crow before. A few months ago Badger wouldn't have been able to give someone directions there if they paid him, but after spending a few times trekking back and forth from it, Badger knew the way to the hospital.

Well... he'd been told by a doctor who'd used fancy words that it wasn't a hospital in the sense that he understood one to be. They helped people get better, but in a different way from if they'd broken a leg or something like that. But as far as Badger could tell, it was a hospital. And either way, the people there were taking good care of his dad.

The building wasn't too far away from the train station. And as much as Badger knew it was silly, he couldn't help but see that station as being the beginning of all the changes in his life. From that place Crow had gone to London and met Umid, then he had come back to drag them up to Northumberland on a failed rescue mission for Wren and Socket, before leading the ignorantly loyal Badger back to London and breaking his heart there... Part of Badger wanted to blame that train station for taking away what the Black Ravens once were, even though he knew that wasn't the truth of the matter. It had been Crow who'd chosen to leave. And even if he hadn't, that wouldn't change the fact that Wren, Socket and Louis were all no longer with them. Change was inevitable. As much as Badger didn't enjoy it.

He stopped thinking about the train station as he went through the hospital doors. The receptionist had seen him so many times that she didn't stop him to check who he was. The only oddity was probably that he was there on his own this time instead of with Crow.

It was a short walk through a few corridors to get to his dad's room and Badger knew the way. He trudged along on automatic, only stopping once he reached the door.

Badger took a deep breath. What he wanted to do today was daunting. Because even if talking to his dad was the right thing to do, he didn't know how the man would react. There was a good chance that he'd take this very badly.

Regardless, Badger reminded himself that he wasn't there for advice – he was there to inform. So even if it all went wrong, Badger could just leave. Maybe it would be terrible to go through life without his dad's blessing, but what would be worse would be doing this without telling him at all. Badger would not make that mistake again.

Though through some weird twist in fate, Badger's pause to find his breath had caused him to avoid walking in on someone who was already there. He heard a voice from inside the room. Perhaps one of the doctors was in there talking about treatment or something like that. Not wanting to interrupt such a conversation, Badger pressed against the wall to wait until the person left.

He couldn't help but listen in after that.

“...I know that ya 'ate me an' that I'm the last person ya wanna talk to...”

Oh.

Oh no.

No no no no nooooo.

Badger raised his hands to cover his mouth in sheer horror. It was Crow inside the room. Crow had gone to talk to his dad without him.

Why would he do that? And better yet, why would the staff here just let him in? Sure, Crow had always come along with Badger, but didn't anyone bother to check that he wasn't actually friends or family to his dad? Then again, they hadn't exactly checked with Badger at the entrance either. In fact, given that the two of them did always visited together, the staff might have just thought that Badger was running late for some reason and Crow had come ahead of him.

He wanted to stop this. To run in there right now and yell at Crow to go away. But he couldn't. For whatever reason Crow had wanted to come here to talk to Badger's dad. And while Badger felt he had a right to know why, he couldn't bring himself to stop it from happening.

So instead he just listened as best he could.

“...Badgah- ...that is, Simon wouldn't even be 'appy if 'e knew I was 'ere,” Crow went on. And Badger silently added that damn right he wasn't happy; “But I need to talk to ya. It's pretty important. F-for Simon's future.”

“And what do yer get t' say about Si's future, eh?” his dad rumbled in reply. He sounded weak, as always, but Badger wanted to believe that he was doing better now than he had been before he'd come to the hospital at all.

Also, right now he completely agreed with his dad that Crow had no say over what was going to happen to him.

“Nothin' for sure,” confessed Crow, “I'm not gonna do anythin' without askin' 'im first. An' to tell the truth, I reckon that I've propah messed up any chances that I 'ad for these plans. But... I wanna ask 'im just in case. 'Cause I really want this an' I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew that I nevah even tried.”

The snort that Badger's dad gave carried out the door.

“Sounds like yer askin' fer permission to marry 'im!” he wheezed.

“No, nothin' like that!” Crow quickly assured. Badger didn't know whether he was relieved or disappointed to hear that.

“Good, because yer doun't 'ave my blessings,” snapped his dad.

“I... might want those for somethin' else though,” Crow admitted, “Ya see, I'm gonna leave Mist'allery soon an' move away, even if it's not forevah. I wanna spread my wings an' see 'ow far I can get somewhere else. An' when I go, I want Badge' to come with me. Honestly, I don't think 'e'll wanna go any more an' we both know 'e'd be safer if 'e stayed 'ere, but I want 'im to come with me so badly. So I 'afta ask 'im. If 'e says yes – an' that's a big if – I know that it'll worry 'im leavin' ya 'ere on ya own. Th-that's why I came to ask that... if Badgah comes to ya an' says that 'e's leavin', please just let 'im go. Don't make 'im feel bad about it, 'cause that won't 'elp 'im.”

There's a very long pause after that. Badger's dad must have needed as much time to process all of this as Badger did himself. Tears began to stream down Badger's face and he couldn't even sniff them back for fear that he'd be heard by the two of them.

After what felt like an age, his father spoke up again. His voice seemed tired and forlorn. Badger had to lean in as close to the door as he could just to hear it.

“Yer right that I 'ate yer,” he droned, “Honestly, most days I wish that Si 'ad neveh met yer at all. Yer led 'im astray and cast some sorteh weird spell on 'im. If it comes to choosing between me or yer, then I doun't stand a chance. We both know that. The Simon today couldn't be more different from the one that came to Mist'allereh back when the factory were open. But even I can't deny that 'e's... strongeh now. That spell you cast on 'im 'as brought 'im outteh 'is shell. If yer leave 'im now then 'e'd only go back to 'ow 'e were before and Simon knows that as well as I do. I know that 'e doun't want that eitheh. So if yer asked 'im to go with yer, 'e'd jump at the chance and neveh look back. It's 'is onleh option.”

Badger's heart was racing. It was true. All of it.

“Not necessarily,” debated Crow, “Badg- ...Simon is strongah than ya think. I'll be honest with ya, Mistah Walker, I thought the same as you before this week. There was no doubt in my 'ead that 'e'd say yes when I asked. But then I saw just 'ow good 'e is without me... Simon spent all o' this week provin' that 'e can manage without my 'elp. An' I see now that I was wrong to think that 'e needs me. So maybe stayin' 'ere would be bettah for 'im aftah all...”

“But we both know that 'e'll say yes anyway,” Badger's dad pressed.

“I can't say that I do know that. But I would like 'im to come,” Crow insisted.

“...Then yer win. I'll let 'im go,” sighed his dad, “I could neveh compete anyway, so I won't 'old 'im back. Just take good care of 'im or I will find yer and smash yer teeth in.”

“Thank you so much!” Crow gasped, “I promise that I won't let ya down!”

“Good, now push off. I'm alreadeh sick of lookin' at that mug of yours,” concluded Badger's dad, with a firm growl.

Badger knew that he didn't have much time to spare. Not sticking around to hear the final goodbyes between Crow and his father, he ducked away and down one of the other corridors. It wasn't one that Crow had to go through to get out, so he knew he'd be safe there. And sure enough, not even a minute after that he heard footsteps leave the room.

The sound of Crow's feet disappeared down the hall, but Badger waited a while longer. He counted to sixty in his head, both to be safe and to give himself time to think about everything that he'd just heard. Not that thinking about it would make any difference right now. Badger was still drowning in all the feelings he was having. Crow actually wanted him to go with him. And he had done even before this week.

With his nerves as calm as they were going to get, Badger stepped out from his hiding place and back down the corridor to his dad's room. He went inside, because he couldn't not do after coming all this way and hearing what he'd just heard.

In the room his dad lay on a bed, covered by a thin hospital sheet and staring off out of the window. He turned his head at the sound of Badger walking in and at first his sunken eyes widened in surprise. But then he just nodded. He knew that Badger had heard everything.

“I guess yer've come t' say goodbye then... Badger.”

“Dad...!”

Badger rushed over and hugged him for the first time in years. Even before his mam had died he'd all but given up showing affection to his dad. Right now he felt a weak arm being placed around his back and it was too much. He cried and he cried until he couldn't cry any longer.

***

It was early evening before Badger found Crow back in Misthallery. He was in the woods of all places, near where the path split off between going to the old shack and to the place where the scientist who researched the local fish did her work.

“There yer are,” Badger called, “What're yer doing skulking about 'ere then?”

Crow jumped, but seemed glad when he realised that the voiced belonged to Badger. He hurried over to where he was standing. From the leader's expression it was clear that he had a lot that he wanted to say. As much as Badger knew that was the case anyway.

“I was lookin' for ya,” he answered, “Sometimes ya come this way to keep an eye on things, but I guess ya 'aven't for a while... It was kinda a last resort.”

“Well, now yer found me,” Badger observed.

“Yeah, an' I wanna to apologise for yesterday,” started Crow.

“Nah, that's not it,” Badger corrected.

“Wot do ya mean?” Crow asked. He looked genuinely confused. Badger wouldn't mind seeing that expression from him more often.

“Look, yer can say sorreh if yer want, but we both know yer doun't regret it, not realleh. Because when Crowlo gets an idea in that birdie 'ead of 'is, few things can convince 'im that it isn't a good one. Maybe I'm not thrilled about yer exposing the Black Raven t' the world just t' test us, but that's not why I were angry at yer,” clarified Badger, “...Or why yer wanted t' talk with me.”

Crow seemed taken aback by Badger's speculations, but he didn't deny them; “Ya know me too well, Badge'. Maybe there's a bit o' damage control to do, but I reckon that the Black Ravens will manage bettah with more eyes on 'em once I leave. The business is gonna do fine.”

“And we all know 'ow important yer business plan is,” agreed Badger.

“Don't put it like that! Ya make me sound single-minded an' 'arsh,” Crow protested.

“That's because yer are single-minded and 'arsh,” debated Badger, “Now do yer 'ave owt else t' say or are you just ganna 'ead 'ome t' pack yer suitcase?”

“Badgah...” Crow whined.

“Yeah?” hummed Badger. It wasn't easy, but he knew that he couldn't give Crow an inch.

“This ain't 'ow I wanted to do this...” sighed Crow.

“Do summit outside of the plan fer a change,” Badger retorted.

“All right, but ya ain't gonna like this...” Crow replied, admitting defeat. “Badgah, I'm leavin' Mist'allery. I dunno when exactly, but probably sometime soon. An' chances are that I'll go back to London again, just until I get somethin' else sorted. 'cause if I stay 'ere forevah then... well, it'll probably be okay, but it'll nevah be the best I can do. The black market is an amazin' thing that works thanks to all o' ya, not just me. There's always ways we can change it up a bit, as Marilyn an' Arianna 'ave both shown us these past few months. But changin' it up just ain't the same as makin' somethin' new. I love the Black Ravens, more than anythin', but I need to challenge myself.”

“I know,” assured Badger, “And I'm not ganna stop yer from doing it.”

“But that's just it... I don't wanna do this alone,” Crow continued.

This was it. Badger felt his heart beat faster. There was no going back now. But even so, he just had to egg Crow on. He needed to get more out of it.

“Well, I'm sure that Rod will follow yer t' the ends of the earth,” he answered. And then he instantly felt bad for using Roddy as a scapegoat, since that probably wasn't too far from the truth.

“I didn't mean Roddy!” protested Crow, “Well... I know that 'e'd come if 'e could, but I'd nevah ask 'im to leave 'is mum without anyone to look aftah 'er. B-but anyway, I meant you, Badge'. I want ya to come with me when I go away. If ya will, that is...”

Badger pretended to think about it. Which was a difficult feat to pull off, because in truth there was only ever going to be one answer. He wanted to jump into Crow's arms and yell that he would go with him anywhere he wanted to go and never leave him. But Crow didn't deserve that.

“Hmm... that's not summit I can find an answeh t' just like that,” he lied, “I'm content 'ere in Mist'allereh and we both know that I can manage just fine if yer did go. Mal did a great job running the place and I know where I stand with 'er. But with Crowlo I neveh feel like yer giving me the full story. Marilyn and yer are both puppet-mastehs, but she's niceh about it than yer...”

“Come on, Badge'!” pressed Crow, “Ya'd get bored stiff if ya stay 'ere workin' for Mal! She'd 'ave ya fixin' trinkets all day an' I know ya don't like that. Come with me an' I promise that ya nevah gonna get bored again!”

“It almost sounds like yer asking me t' run away with yer,” Badger mused.

For a moment he thought he saw a bit of colour reach Crow's cheeks. But he must have been imagining it. The mighty leader of the Black Ravens didn't blush.

“That 'cause I kinda am...” he mumbled.

“I guess I could think about it, but on one condition,” stated Badger.

“Wot's that?” Crow asked.

“...That if we do gan t' London, or anywhere else fer that matteh, that yer come back t' visit yer mam sometimes. I know she respects that yer a free spirit or whateveh yer want t' call it, but she worrehs about yer a lot,” Badger insisted.

Crow nodded. He was smiling a weak and trembling smile. It looked strange on him. Today Badger had seen a few expressions that he wasn't used to seeing from Crow.

“So ya gonna come with me?” he checked.

Badger shrugged; “Yeah, sure. Why not? Someone needs t' make sure yer don't drift off int' space, Crowlo.”

“Th-thanks so much, Badge'...” Crow replied, “Ya 'ave no idea 'ow glad I am to 'ear ya say that!”

Badger laughed a strange laugh. Honestly, Crow was the one who had no idea how happy he was to agree to this. As well as terrified. He was so very scared of what might lie in wait just outside of their safe little home. But he was going to face it and he'd be all right, because Crow and him were going together. Because Crow wanted him there with him. He'd asked Badger to come and even asked permission from Badger's dad. That had to mean something, didn't it?

They were going to take that next step together. And right now that was all that mattered to Badger.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the last few months the Black Ravens have been preparing for Crow and Badger leaving them to go to London. And now that time is almost upon them. It's just that one thing doesn't go exactly how Badger had planned it in his head...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go with Act Three, the next big part of the story! If you haven't checked it out already, then I also wrote a side-story entitled Advice from the Market Stall that shows a lot of what was happening behind the scenes during Act Two.

It took time both to heal the damage and to prepare for what was coming next. Much to everyone's relief, this was not rushed. Crow still cared deeply about the Black Ravens and had managed to reassure them that he always would. That care came in the form of readying them all for what would happen once he wasn't there any more, as well as providing a few theatrics to stir up Misthallery about... well, about them.

Because it turned out that Crow's move to make them more known amongst the town had been beneficial. Many locals who usually wouldn't bother with the market were now coming there for a chance to find the secret auctions they'd received a taster of. The Black Ravens couldn't be more talked about than they were right now. And as much as Badger still couldn't say for sure how he felt about Crow's trick, there was no getting around the fact that it had helped them and would continue to help the others once Crow had gone. Which was probably his intention.

Outside of that, Crow would often take aside members of the group individually to talk to them seriously about the change. These talks increased in number the closer he came to finally leaving, with Marilyn, Roddy and surprisingly Arianna being the ones he would want to speak to most frequently. Badger didn't ask Crow or any of the others about what they'd discussed though, since it was their business alone.

But as Crow's fussing grew more and more it became ever apparent that his plans to move were getting closer to coming to fruition. Because of that, none of them were surprised when one day Crow called a meeting that he said was definitely not optional – he wanted full attendance from all of the Black Ravens currently living in Misthallery.

It had now been a few months since that fateful day when Crow had told Badger that he wanted them to leave the town together. Badger felt that he couldn't be more ready.

There was also little waiting around to be done, as each of them were eager to hear it from Crow's lips, so the auction hall filled out within a short time of the notice reaching everyone's ears. Gus pulled the doors closed behind them as the last few filed in.

“Thanks for comin' as soon as ya could,” Crow began, once seats were taken, “I've bin... puttin' this off for a while now, but I reckon the Black Ravens are as ready as we'll evah be.”

“Get on with it then; don't keep us in suspense,” demanded Scraps. He'd never been one for showmanship or drawing things out.

“All right, yeah, I'll 'urry it up,” Crow chuckled, “As all o' ya know, I plan to leave Mist'allery an' try my luck elsewhere in the world. I'm not gonna go ovah all the details about why I'm doin' this, 'cause I've probably said it so much at this point that ya sick o' 'earin' about it, but I am. An' Badgah's comin' with me. Which is why I've brought ya 'ere today to say that it's 'appenin' soon – next week, in fact. This will be our last chance to prepare as a group before ya on ya own, but believe me when I say that all o' ya are ready to 'andle it. I've watched ya grow an' I couldn't be more proud. When Badge' an' me come back, whenevah that may be, I fully expect that ya will 'ave reached potentials I couldn't even 'ave imagined.”

This announcement brought a small cheer of approval throughout the group, who Badger assumed would be keen to prove to Crow that this was the case. It was funny – before all this happened they'd have been terrified to lose Crow, but now they were all ready for him to move on.

...Though Badger was quietly happy that he was going with him. That way he didn't have to be ready to lose Crow in the same way that the others were.

“Maybe we'll have become such a big deal that we won't even need you back by then,” Tony bravely called out. This was met by light-hearted laughter and nods of approval.

“That might be the case!” agreed Crow, “But anyway, before I do leave I want to give ya a chance to ask any questions that ya might 'ave 'ere an' now. There'll be othah opportunities if any o' ya would rathah talk to me on ya own, but this might be our last meetin' togethah as a group for a while. So... anyone got somethin' ya wanted to ask?”

Scraps stepped forward. He didn't wait to be prompted by Crow before he started to talk.

“You're going to London, correct?” he asked.

“That's right,” confirmed Crow.

“And what are your immediate plans when you get there?” Scraps went on.

“Well, to start with Badge' an' me are gonna stay with some friends at the Weathered Duke's 'otel, probably do a bit o' work there to get our feet on the ground,” Crow explained, “But it ain't my intention to stay there too long. Not this time. So as soon as we can, we'll move to a place o' our own an' try to set up the auction business there.”

“Hmm... yes, that sounds adequate,” Scraps mused. He nodded sagely.

“...Adequate?” checked Crow. His voice sounded as curious as the others probably all felt about Scraps's ominous questioning. For some reason Badger found himself growing cold in anticipation of what Scraps might say next.

“Yes, it's perhaps not as swift as I'd like, but it sounds stable enough,” Scraps answered, “So I've decided – I'm coming with you.”

“WHAT!”

“No way!”

“Is he serious!”

The yells of surprise came from various different people in the crowd, but even those who didn't call out looked shocked. None of them saw this coming. Badger looked around wildly, first at Crow and then towards Marilyn. They both seemed as stunned as everyone else. Even the two puppet-masters hadn't seen that coming!

“But you can't go!” Gus protested, “You're the best treasure-finder that we have!”

“I've been training Tony up ever since the week of our first auction without Crow. He's more than ready to take over from me,” assured Scraps.

“No, that isn't fair!” shouted Tony, “I-I still don't know exactly what it is I want to do for the Black Ravens. Look, I know I can find treasure in the trash now, you've taught me a lot, but I'm nowhere near as good at it as you are!”

“No, you're not. But you're good enough and you'll only get better,” Scraps assured him, “I'm sick of hearing you go on about finding your one special role in the Black Ravens. It's been obvious to me from the start that you don't have one. Instead you're a good all-rounder. No matter what we throw your way, you manage. Maybe you're not going to be the best at one thing, but you can do a lot of things all right and sometimes that's more important. So right now I'm telling you to cover for me until I either get back or until you teach someone else to do it in my place.”

Tony was blinking back tears and still looked a little terrified. Badger couldn't blame him – Scraps was always blunt and to the point. If it had been Badger on the end of that grilling then he'd probably be crying too.

But ultimately, Tony nodded.

“F-fine, I'll do it,” he decided, “Maybe I don't like it, but I think you're right. And I do think that I'll... I'll do okay. At this and at everything else.”

“Good. It's settled then. I'm going to London and Tony will act in my place for the group,” stated Scraps. He turned to stare back up at Crow.

“I-I didn't say ya could come yet,” Crow stammered, in a rare moment of being caught off-guard.

“I'm coming with you,” Scraps assured him.

“Very well then, I guess it'll be Badgah, Scraps an' me who are goin'. Though I am a bit worried that'll leave things short 'anded around 'ere,” he admitted, “Especially if...”

As that sentence trailed off, Crow looked over at Roddy and so did Marilyn. None of the others had any idea what they were referring to, not even Badger, but it seemed that something must have come up during one of the talks Crow had with Roddy and Marilyn that could affect the numbers of the group. Whatever it was, it can't have been a good thing.

“That's not going to happen for a while,” grunted Roddy, “Just you lot do what you want and I'll sort out everything on my end.”

Crow cut in, “But what if-”

“I'll. Sort. It. Don't worry. Just keep your birdie head in the game and I can manage everything on my end,” insisted Roddy, “Honestly, it'll be easier for me to manage all this without the pain of having to babysit you at the same time anyway.”

“If you're sure...” Crow resigned, not looking too happy about whatever they were talking about. Badger mused that Roddy was also probably the only person who could refer to Crow as being babysat in front of everyone without getting any sort of backlash for it.

“Getting back to the matter at hand though,” Marilyn prompted. She gestured Crow back towards the wide-eyed faces of the rest of the group.

“Y-yes, sorry about that,” Crow mumbled. He turned to face them all properly again; “I'm sure that even with all these unexpected changes that ya gonna manage fine. The Black Ravens proved to me what ya capable of when bein' pushed already, so I 'ave no doubts about that. Now, if there are no furthah questions then all that's left to do is announce the leadah who'll be takin' ovah from me when I go.”

The room fell silent. No one had anything else to say in light of that. After a pause, Crow went on.

“...None o' ya are gonna be surprised by this choice, I don't think, but given 'ow well she 'andled things durin' my week away, I can think o' no bettah person for this role than Marilyn,” announced Crow.

There was definite and loud cheering throughout the hall at this. Marilyn had been everyone's first choice and none of them could be happier than having her take charge. They'd all be safe and well-guided under her care.

Marilyn nodded her head; “Thanks for trusting me with this, boss.”

“I should be callin' you that now,” laughed Crow, “But I'm glad that this is somethin' everyone agrees on. An' if that's it then I guess we can call this meetin' to a close.”

“Just about,” Arianna interrupted, “Tony and I have been preparing for this day coming. We might not have known exactly when it would happen any more than the rest did, but well, I believe we're ready. So, to celebrate Crow, Badger and Scraps moving onto new horizons and Marilyn taking up the reins here, I propose we have one final party all together, up at Barde Manor. We can go out onto the lake and enjoy the last of the good weather before the warm days leave us for good.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Marilyn agreed.

She wasn't the only one. All of the Black Ravens were ready for a chance to let their hair down. It had been a long time preparing for today and would be a long time still after Crow had taken his leave before everything was steady once more. They deserved this time just to put it all aside and have some fun.

In good spirits, they all left the hall to head up to the manor. Crow was the last one out. Badger caught him giving the doors to the hall a fond smile as he pulled the shut. This was the end of an era.

***

The week after that final meeting went by all too quickly.

They'd had a great time at the party - each of them managed to forget that soon afterwards everything would be different. Or if not forget, at least put it on hold for a little while. The good thing was that this time they had been given a chance to prepare for the massive change, instead of having it thrust upon them from nowhere. They could celebrate being together one last time.

Plus, this wouldn't change the fact that they were all Black Ravens. Nothing would change that. Even Louis, Wren and Socket, whatever they might be doing right now, would still always be Black Ravens. And hopefully the three of them would be just as happy about how things had turned out as the rest of the gang were.

But now the party was over. And the week was over too. It was Crow and Badger, stood in the doorway of Crow's house, being seen off by a teary-eyed Maureen.

“I'm so glad... so glad that you told me you were going this time, Tom,” she bubbled, “A-and I'm very proud of you both. You're going to do so well out there... Just please come back sometimes.”

“I promise we will, Mum,” assured Crow.

Badger felt that he could take at least some of the credit for Crow being upfront with his mother about his plans this time, since he'd been the one who told Crow that was a condition of Badger coming with him. He liked to think that Crow would have probably told Maureen anyway, but perhaps not to the full extent. This way was for the best.

“You'd better, young man,” Maureen went on, “Or at least write as often as you can. I know that you have to do what you think is best, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. And Badger, please do make sure that my little boy looks after himself while he's away. Sometimes he forgets to stop working.”

Badger laughed; “Trust me, Missus Carr, I know all about that!”

“Would the two o' ya cut that out?” Crow protested, “An' I'm 'ardly little any more, Mum!”

“You might be old enough to leave home now, but you're always gonna be my little boy,” insisted Maureen.

“I'm not winnin' this one, am I?” Crow sighed.

“I doun't think yer are, Crowlo,” answered Badger, “A-anyway, um, before we go I just wanted t' thank yer, Missus Carr, fer looking afteh me all this time. I think yer know all about me dad anyway, but I'm glad yer didn't ask questions about it and j-just took me in. No one's eveh been as nice t' me as yer 'ave.”

“If that's the case then my son needs to be a lot nicer to you,” dismissed Maureen, as Crow withered slightly, “But all the same, think nothing of it, dearie. Everyone deserves a place they can all home. You'll always have that here.”

As she spoke, Badger felt himself start to tear over. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper and gave a loud sniff.

“Oh yeah, we got ya somethin', Mum,” announced Crow, to take the focus away from Badger, “'ere ya go.”

Badger uncovered his eyes in time to see Crow hand Maureen the teddy from the auction. It was the first time he'd seen it since that night. He'd gotten so angry with Crow over his bidding on it that he hadn't dared asked what had happened to it.

“It might not seem like much,” Crow continued, “But Badge' fixed that thing up for someone who'd care about it an' I... well, I got it from 'im so we could give it to ya.”

Maureen held the teddy up into the dull light of the morning. She smiled warmly at it and then put it down on a side-table next to the door, before she reached over to hug them both tightly.

“Thank you so much! I'll put it in pride of place on the mantelpiece, so I can think of you both whenever I look at it. You're both s-such caring boys...” she cried.

“Yeah, we're pretty great,” Crow agreed, “But, um, we've gotta go get Scraps an' get to the next town before we miss the train...”

“All right, I get it,” Maureen tutted. She released them both, “Too much affection is embarrassing and you hate long goodbyes. So I'll just say... t-take care of each other out there. And don't be afraid to come back if it doesn't work out.”

“Ya the best, Mum,” concluded Crow, “So... s-see ya 'round.”

With that he turned and stalked off outside and down the street with purpose. He really was stubborn when it came to getting emotional sometimes.

“Thanks again fer everything,” Badger added, since he felt like he should make up for Crow's abrupt departure, “I do promise that I'll look afteh 'im fer you.”

“I know that you will,” assured Maureen, “And Badger...? Whatever happens between you two, well, that's okay. Don't think that I'll be angry.”

Badger swallowed hard; “I-I-I dunno w-what yer... ehh, what yer mean...”

“You better get after him before he races off out of Misthallery,” reminded Maureen.

“Doun't worreh, running is one thing 'e can't beat me on,” snorted Badger, “G-goodbye then, Missus Carr.”

“Goodbye, Badger...”

With that, even Badger had to leave. He wasn't in as much of a rush as Crow though and made sure to wave back to Maureen until he was out of sight. Once around the corner he made his way to Scraps's house, where Crow and their unplanned travel-partner were already getting ready to leave.

“I'm glad you're not holding us up,” Scraps said to Badger, before they started on their way.

A big part of Badger didn't know how to feel about Scraps coming along with them. Very selfishly, in the months that had followed Crow asking Badger to come with him, the lanky northerner had built up this moment in his head quite a lot. It might be a scary prospect, but it was also maybe a little romantic to think about him and Crow going out to face the big, wide world together. Never in any of these fantasies had Badger factored Scraps in. That made the whole set up a lot less romantic.

Of course when they reached the other side of the rope bridge that led out of the market the others were all waiting there for them. Marilyn, Gus, Roddy, Arianna and Tony. Perhaps a few of the faces were different this time around, but it reminded Badger very much of how they'd all gathered here when Louis had moved away. Only the weather had been nicer back then. This time they were heading out to the lingering mist of an autumn morning. Nevertheless, Badger hoped that the next time the Black Ravens were gathered here like this it would be to welcome someone back, not say goodbye to more members. Because as much as they'd all beaten about the bush where that topic was concerned, they couldn't afford to lose many more of them if they wanted to keep going in Misthallery.

“This is it then,” Crow started, “I'm glad all o' ya came.”

“Wouldn't miss it,” hummed Marilyn.

“An'... any news?” Crow asked Roddy.

“No, but don't think about that,” Roddy demanded, “You'll have a lot more to think about once you get on that train.”

“Ya right, o' course,” sighed Crow, “Well, thanks once again – for puttin' up with me. I know that I've not bin an easy leader an' I've not always made the right choices, but all o' ya 'ave bin the best friends an' best Black Ravens I could o' asked for. I'm sure ya gonna do just fine. Also, I dunno if I evah made it official before now, 'cause part o' me felt there was no need an' ya knew it already, but Tony an' Arianna? The two o' ya are Black Ravens now. None o' this honourary membah stuff. Propah Black Ravens.”

“R-really...?” Tony gasped, his face lit up.

“As if there was ever any doubt,” Arianna chimed.

“Maybe we all come from different backgrounds, but we all want the same things. The two o' ya care about the auctions just as much as the rest o' us. It'd be a disservice to ya to not let ya in for real,” concluded Crow.

“Just make sure you don't let anyone else steal the good treasure, Tony,” Scraps instructed, “And Arianna... well, you can pretty much just keep going as you are. Even I can't pick fault with you.”

“I'll take that as a compliment,” giggled Arianna.

The three of them said their own goodbyes to the rest of the group after this. They were all so close by now that there was so much to be said. And Badger found that the one thing most frequently said to him was that he was going to be all right, he could do this and he could look after Crow. For the first time, Badger truly started to feel that they might be right about that.

After a while, Scraps brought their farewells to an end by pointing out that they'd miss the train should they stay too much longer. Maybe he was a little rude, but Badger had to admit that he was right about that.

“I packed you some lunch boxes for the train,” Gus said, before they left, “You'll probably be fine once you get to that hotel in London, but I didn't want you to go without one last taste of the great food from home. There's sandwiches from Paddy's restaurant, fruit from Marilyn's stall and sweets from Aunt Taffy.”

“Thanks, Gus,” replied Crow, as he took his lunch box, “Maybe by the time we get back we might even be too old to get sweets from Aunt Taffy.”

“You almost are anyway,” Marilyn scoffed, “Trust me, you'll want to have them while you can. It's no fun once she starts seeing you as too old to buy them and I think she's getting wise to Gus smuggling them out for the rest of us.”

“We'll savour them,” promised Crow, “So... this is it then.”

“We'll see yer all, um, I dunno when, but we will be back one day,” Badger added.

“Take care of yourselves,” Gus pleaded.

“We will. Just make sure none of you mess up while we're gone or I'll come back and sort you all out,” Scraps threatened.

“You can count on us!” cheered Tony.

“And make sure you give us reason to count on you too,” added Arianna.

“Not that you've ever let us down before, former leader,” Marilyn teased. She gave Crow a cheeky wink.

Roddy finished it off; “Remember – don't fret. And look after each other. Badger, you need to let Crow know when he's being a pain.”

“I'm sure Badger'll be the first to tell me,” snorted Crow. He clasped a hand on Badger's shoulder, which made him jump a little in fright.

“Clocks ticking!” called Scraps, already partway down the road.

“We're comin', we're comin',” sighed Crow, “Bye everyone!”

With that, the three of them left. It was a noisy farewell, with the others calling out to them all the way down the road. Chances were that anyone in any nearby houses might have been woken up by the noise, but they weren't too worried about that. This was the Black Ravens' moment and perhaps the last one they would have for a while. They deserved this time.

When the three of them reached the station, it turned out that Scraps's worries had been for naught and they were in good time to catch their train. But maybe if they'd dawdled it might have been a different story, so Badger was glad they'd made it there when they did.

After a short while of waiting, the train pulled up and the three of them made to get inside with all their luggage. Naturally Scraps shoved in ahead of the crowd, he didn't want to miss out on seats by being last on. But Badger hesitated. Crow turned around to see him looking at the carriage door with a mix of terror and wonder.

“Everythin' all right, Badge'?” he checked.

“This is it...” Badger mumbled, “We get on this train and it's goodbye Mist'allereh, goodbye auctions and goodbye nice, safe life.”

“Ya can always go back. It ain't too late,” Crow said, though his heart wasn't in it. He definitely didn't want Badger to go back.

Badger shook his head; “If I go back there'll be no Crow. And if there's no Crow then there might as well not be owt else.”

Crow smiled.

“Let's go then.”

He took hold of Badger's hand and squeezed it encouragingly. It was a scary and electric feeling, but somehow for that one moment it felt right. Together, the two of them stepped onto the train that would lead them away from their old lives and into an unknown future.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Badger, Crow and Scraps arrive in London they soon learn that their visit coincides with that of another friend they've not seen for a while.

The train pulled up into King's Cross station. Badger was glad that this time he knew what to expect from London, so the large crowds both inside and outside of the carriage didn't take him by surprise. The only difference was that now the three of them all had heavy, well-packed bags to carry.

...Though it fast became apparent that Scraps intended to use his suitcase as an extra means to help him shove his way through the mass of people. Badger and Crow had to hurry to keep up with him.

“People in London are so rude,” Scraps scolded, as he elbowed between a blonde man who looked a bit like a weasel and a tall women with a large hat. Badger had a feeling he'd seen the woman in Misthallery before, but she didn't recognise them.

“Ya tellin' me,” laughed Crow, “But what did ya expect?”

Scraps stopped to scan his head across the crowd. He took in each face with grim judgement and seemed to make up his mind about something. Badger would have put good money on what came out of his mouth next being a jab against the rich. And he turned out to be right.

“It's disgusting. All these snobs gathered together in this hub. They're not like the rich folk back home, I can almost tolerate that lot. But these people, they're sucking our good country dry.” A wicked grin passed across Scraps's face; “...I'm going to destroy them.”

“That's the idea!” cheered Crow, “Swindle from the rich an' keep it for ourselves.”

Badger looked between the two of them and their hungry eyes. Suddenly he realised that Crow and Scraps might have more in common than he'd originally given them credit for. It was going to be tough work keeping both of them in check.

“Let's just get t' the 'otel,” prompted Badger. He was eager to get a move on before his friends' bold conversation attracted any unwanted attention.

The other two agreed and they made their way out of the station, mostly by following Scraps's lead. At one point Crow ducked out of sight from a train conductor who was carrying what looked like a microphone. When Badger asked why, Crow mumbled that he might have pick-pocketed from that guy before.

Once they were out on the streets, the three of them didn't hang around to admire the view. They weren't blessed with good weather this time and the rain poured down on them relentlessly. Everyone around them was also dashing for cover, so they had to work hard to keep their little group together. Crow seized Badger's hand without warning to keep him close. It might have caused Badger to have an attack of butterflies in his stomach during any other situation, but right now they were all too focused on getting where they needed to go.

And as much as Scraps might have liked to push through this crowd as well, the fact was that he didn't know the way to the Weathered Duke's Hotel, so he had to rely on the guidance of the other two. It was mostly Crow who led the way, since he'd stayed there more and Badger couldn't remember it too well from the one time he'd been.

After a long and wet journey they made it. Each of them wished they'd had an umbrella as they walked through to the reception, dripping onto the carpet as they went.

“Oi, Mags? Becks? Anyone around?” Crow called.

“Bzzt! Bossy Becky and Granny Margaret are out. But I'll be your host for today's show.”

The voice came from the counter, where a short boy who looked around Tony's age was stood waiting. He was staring right at them with eyes that suggested this unexpected visit would put him out of his boredom.

“Oh 'ey, nice to see ya, Max!” greeted Crow, “Don't think ya were 'ere last time me an' Badge' came down to London. But anyway, these are two o' the friends I told ya about, Badgah an' Scraps. An' you two, this is Max, one o' the othah people they roped into workin' at this place.”

“N-nice t' meet you,” Badger nervously mumbled.

“We're always happy to have new contestants!” replied Max.

“What's this kid's deal?” grumbled Scraps.

“Max talks like a game show 'ost,” explained Crow, “No clue why, but ya get used to it aftah a while.”

“...That's if you're here long enough to get use to it. Hello, Crow. This is a surprise. Thanks for not giving us any warning that you were coming.”

The three Black Ravens turned back towards the door, where a tall young woman with a no-nonsense expression was stood, along with a sleepy-looking old lady. Badger recognised Margaret from last time and guessed that the angry girl must be Becky.

“An' 'ere I thought ya would be 'appy to see me,” countered Crow, pretending to look as if he was hurt.

“That depends on why you're here,” stated Becky. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded him.

“All right, I'll be frank with ya,” promised Crow. He dropped the smug act entirely as he went on, so Becky could tell he was being honest; “My friends an' me wanna move to London. But we ain't got a place to stay yet, so we figured that we could 'elp out 'ere at the 'otel for a while until we get on our feet.”

“We'd be happy for the extra hand,” Margaret assured, “There's enough spare rooms for the three of you, if you don't mind sharing.”

“But Granny, we've already got one extra worker arriving today,” protested Becky, “This place is only big enough to need so much staff.”

“Oh, him? No, he's not staying,” Margaret corrected, “Didn't Grafton tell you? He's just popping in to see us all and then he's heading off elsewhere.”

“Who's this ya talkin' about?” asked Crow. A hopeful glint appeared in his eyes.

Becky sighed; “Your friend Umid, believe it or not. I was going to send Max to pick him up from the airport, but I suppose you'll wanna go instead?”

“I... um, w-well if it's okay with ya...” Crow stammered.

“Get upstairs and drop your bags off,” Becky instructed, “You've got time to get settled for a bit before his flight's due in.”

“Thanks Becks, ya still the best!” praised Crow, “Come on you two, let's go.”

With that he led Badger and Scraps away up the set of stairs that was cordoned off with a 'STAFF ONLY' sign. Badger quickly waved goodbye to their three hosts before following, since he didn't want to be rude.

“Ya might 'ave guessed, but that was Margaret an' Becky,” Crow explained, once they were out of earshot, “Mags is a sweet ol' lady, sleeps most o' the time. Becks... well, she's strict but she 'as a good 'eart deep down.”

“I do like people who don't put up with rubbish,” Scraps commented.

“They're all 'ard workahs an' not snooty rich toffs, I figured ya would like that, Scraps,” added Crow.

“You know me too well,” Scraps confirmed.

With that the three of them reached the line of spare rooms and checked inside each of them. It seemed that one was already occupied, probably by Max from the look of all the game show flyers scattered about the floor, so they left that one and took to a room that was more obviously vacant. They were all glad to be able to dump their bags and sit down on a comfy bed after such a long journey.

“I doun't mind sleeping on the floor,” Badger opted, when he saw there were only two beds, “Yer've 'ad yer fill of that from me staying in yer room for so long, Crow.”

“We might not 'afta worry about that at all,” Crow told him, “It could lead to nothin', but I'm interested to find out where Umid's gonna be stayin', if not 'ere. Maybe if things work out we could go with 'im instead o' moochin' off the Weathered Duke.”

“Y-yeah...” murmured Badger, not sure how he felt about that idea.

“But then wouldn't we just be changing mooching from one place to mooching from another?” Scraps enquired.

“I dunno. It'll all come down to wot's goin' on with Umid. But it can't 'urt to look into it,” replied Crow, “Anyway, if ya both sorted then we bettah 'ead back downstairs so we can find out when we need to leave to meet the flight.”

“You two go ahead,” dismissed Scraps, “I've had enough marching around those sorry streets for one day. I'd rather scope this place out and meet this infamous Umid character when you bring him back here.”

“I wouldn't call Umid 'infamous',” Crow laughed. But it was a fake laugh, Badger noted. One to hide his nerves.

Scraps shrugged; “If the boot fits.”

“We betteh go then,” prompted Badger, with a tug on Crow's arm, “Wouldn't want t' keep anyone waiting.”

“Yeah, let's go. We'll be back latah, Scraps,” concluded Crow.

They left their friend to his own means and headed back down the stairs. They were both quietly hoping that Scraps wouldn't cause any trouble while they were gone. He rarely meant any harm, but his abrupt ways could cause offence to those who weren't familiar with him and Badger reckoned that it might clash with Becky's seemingly hot temper.

Back in the reception they found that Margaret had taken up her post behind the counter again, with Becky and Max having disappeared elsewhere. Crow headed over and caught her attention just as she was starting to doze.

“We're ready to pick up one Umid for ya,” he began.

“That's nice, dearie,” yawned Margaret, “I've got you his flight times ready, as well as a map, since you're not from around here. I'd recommend taking the Underground for quickness, since there's a line that'll get you directly to Heathrow.”

“Thanks, Mags. I promise that I'll get 'im back safe an' sound,” Crow vowed, as he took the map and information that she'd offered out to him.

“I don't doubt that, given how fond you were of him,” Margaret slyly commented.

“Ah... me an' Umid... w-well, we called things off for the time bein'. Since we didn't know when we'd see each othah again. F-figured it'd be for the best...” stuttered Crow. It surprised Badger to hear him be open about this with anyone.

“I'm sure whatever happens will be what's right for both of you,” hummed Margaret.

“Y-yeah... I 'ope so,” agreed Crow. Then he shifted his face back into business-mode to draw this discussion to a close; “Right then, we should 'ead off. See ya in a bit, Mags.”

Armed with a map and a scrap of paper that had some flight times written on, Crow and Badger left. They took Margaret's advice about travelling via the Underground, which led them into a whole new level of the London rush. It amused Badger to think that up on the surface there were hundreds of people rushing about and then here under the streets there were hundreds more. The city truly did have more crowds than it knew what to do with.

The Underground turned out to be the best choice though, as the tube journey shaved so long off their journey that they arrived at Heathrow with time to spare. Badger was glad of this, as he'd never properly had a chance to look around an airport before. While he had seen them from the outside, since he'd never been out of the UK there hadn't been much call to give them a second glance. It was interesting to see glimpses of planes leaving and arriving from behind the main building, as well as the slightly more organised clumps of people that bustled about as they headed through into the building itself.

There was only so far they could go inside without tickets themselves though, so they hung around close to where passengers from incoming flights were said to arrive through. Quite a few others were also doing the same, which led Crow to partake in one of his favourite pastimes – people watching. Which was second only to his slightly less savoury pastime - pickpocketing...

“Reckon I could nab that guy's watch without 'im noticin'?” Crow whispered. He nodded towards a tiny fellow with a long beard, who looked like he might have been a university lecturer of some sort.

“Yer could, but I'm not gan t' let yer,” hissed Badger, “Usually it's fine, but we doun't wanneh risk upsetting that Becky.”

“Ya right there. Especially since she caught me out for thievin' once before,” resigned Crow, “I'll be'ave then.”

After that the two of them sat together for a while. They occasionally chatted but mostly stayed quiet. Which allowed Badger's mind to wander onto the topic that he'd rather it wouldn't – Umid.

A pang of embarrassment ran through him as he remembered how he reacted the last time he'd been to London, when he'd seen Crow and Umid kiss each other outside the hotel. Back then he'd been so overwhelmed with emotion that he'd yelled at Crow and ran away, only to get lost in the dark streets. He hadn't seen Umid after that, because he'd been unconscious up until his return to Misthallery, so now all he could do was worry about how he would react to Badger. Because the truth of the matter was that Badger barely knew Umid at all. They'd seen each other so briefly during that time and Crow didn't talk much about him either. It was also apparent that even Crow hadn't had any contact with Umid since he'd returned to Mosinnia.

“Looks like people are startin' to come out,” Crow observed, after they'd been sat there for a while.

It wasn't the first time that this had happened while they'd been waiting. Heathrow was a busy airport, with many flights coming in all the time. But both of them had a good feeling about this one. They headed closer to the gate and hovered around behind those who had got there first.

As they watched, the bearded old man greeted an equally short old woman who seemed to be arriving back from a holiday. The two of them started talking energetically about puzzles and Badger could have sworn he heard Mr. Layton's name mentioned a few times. As well as them, a very lost-looking explorer headed off into the crowd, asking for directions in what sounded like three different languages as he went. Then both Badger and Crow nearly did a double-take as they recognised the singer Naiya, who had spent some time in Misthallery to find inspiration a few years back. Waiting for her was another beautiful woman with red hair, who embraced Naiya in a warm hug. After that they both left in a flurry of discussion about joint concerts.

As the crowd thinned out they started to wonder if that might not have been Umid's flight after all. But then Crow made a small gasp and Badger followed his gaze. Sure enough, the unsuspecting Umid was making his way through the gate.

“Umid...!”

Before Badger had time to react, Crow had bounded forward. It seemed that Umid had been taken by surprise to see Crow there instead of Max, though that didn't stop him from returning the hug Crow launched upon him. The two stood together like that for just long enough that it started to seem a bit awkward, before Crow let go and backed off. He seemed to look guilty with himself. A horrible part of Badger felt that he probably should feel that way.

“Crow, I didn't expect to see you,” confessed Umid, “And Badger too...?”

“Y-yeah... um, 'ello Umid,” mumbled Badger. He felt his throat seize up as the wave of nerves hit him.

“We were sent by Becks to pick ya up,” Crow relayed, “But word 'as it that ya not stayin' at the 'otel this time.”

“No, not for long,” confirmed Umid, “I was just going to go how they've been getting on, since I've missed all of you. Then after that I'll be going somewhere else.”

“An' can ya tell us anythin' about this mysterious place that ya gonna be goin' to?” Crow asked.

“Of course. It's a long story, but while I was back home in Mosinnia an old friend got back in touch,” explained Umid, “I told him that I had been to England for a while and would like to move there one day, but didn't have the money to do so. You might not believe this, but he told me that he had a home in London that he wasn't currently using and arranged for me to be able to stay there free of charge.”

Crow whistled; “That must be some rich friend!”

“It is not my place to question his generosity,” Umid insisted, “But you must tell me about what the two of you are doing back here. Last I remember, you were headed back up to the country.”

“We've 'ad quite the lucky coincidence it seems, 'cause this is our first day back in London as well,” Crow answered, “Me, Badge' an' one o' our othah friends, Scraps, 'ave come to try an' start up a business 'ere. Though for the moment we're stayin' at the Weathered Duke.”

Umid shook his head and replied, “I won't have it. Not for your sake, but for Becky's. You will drive her up the wall, just like last time. No, for Becky's peace of mind I must insist you all come stay with me.”

This was going much better than even Crow could have anticipated. When Badger glanced over at him, he couldn't help but think that it was a wonder he was even managing to keep his feet on the ground with how excited he seemed.

“Wot, really? But we couldn't impose on ya like that. Maybe the place ya stayin' won't be big enough,” Crow declined, though it was clear from his tone that he was interested in the offer.

“From what I've heard, it will do just fine. Now let's get back to the hotel so that you can talk with your friends about what you want to do,” Umid said.

“L-lemme 'elp yer with yer bags,” Badger offered, out of nowhere.

He surprised even himself with this, but didn't intend to go back on his word now that he'd said it. After a polite thanks from Umid, Badger reached forward and took two of the bags. Then he turned to head out of the airport before he became overwhelmed by his own nervous embarrassment.

Both Crow and Umid followed behind him, already in full discussion about how they'd been since they'd last seen each other. Badger tried not to get worked up over it, since he knew that jealousy was not a good thing. It had been so long since they'd seen one another that of course the two had a lot they wanted to say, whether there were still feelings there or not. But Badger could tell that, at least on Crow's end, the feelings were still there. He'd hardly looked away from Umid since the moment he'd walked through the gate. After all that time of Badger deluding himself into thinking he might have had a chance with Crow after all... The truth stung more than a little.

They made their way back to the Weathered Duke's Hotel, where Becky, Margaret, Max, Scraps and another man were all waiting for them. It seemed that Becky and Scraps were in the middle of an intense discussion about politics, but that stopped as soon as Umid walked in. All of the hotel staff crowded around him, talking quickly about how much they'd missed him and how well he looked.

While this happened, Scraps slipped away, back towards Crow and Badger.

“How did it go?” he whispered.

“It went well,” Crow quietly replied, “Umid's offahed for us to come stay with 'im.”

“That was fast. Not that I'm complaining,” hummed Scraps.

Before they could get any further talk about this in, Becky called the three of them over. It seemed that she had an announcement to make.

“So, in light of our best temporary employee coming back from Mosinnia for a visit, we've decided to put on a bang-up meal for us all to share,” she declared, “Grafton's been working hard on it all day and even though we now have three extra mouths to feed, I reckon we'll have enough. As long as none of you are greedy.”

“That sounds good to me!” chimed Crow, decidedly not commenting on the greedy part, “Lead the way to the dinin' room, Becks.”

Without needing to be told twice, Becky turned towards what Badger assumed was the way to the dining room. Everyone followed along behind her, eager to get something to eat after the eventful day. For the most part the others were all trying to get a word in with Umid, who seemed to be too polite to tell them that he would like to have some space. The only exceptions to fussing over him were Scraps and Max, who seemed to have started talking to each other about whether or not game shows were fancy hobbies for the privileged.

...Actually, in all honesty, those two weren't the only exception.

Badger trailed along behind everyone, powerless to do anything other than watch as Crow bobbed close to Umid, constantly trying to grab his notice more than anyone else. Never had Crow behaved that way around any other person, not in all the time that Badger had known him. The feelings that Crow had for Umid were j-just as intense as Badger's own feelings for Crow, except unlike Badger, Crow wasn't shy about letting them be known.

So right now, Badger couldn't have felt any more alone.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group escort Umid to what could be their new home and what they find there leads Crow to have a spark of inspiration about his plans for the Black Ravens in London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anne & Mira Sharpace are a reference to Desmond's family from The-Mocking-J's fanfic, Bonds Left Unbroken. It's definitely one of my favourite PL fanfics and also contains my favourite portrayal of Desmond's partner and child, so I'd highly recommend it if you haven't read the fic already.

The morning after picking Umid up from the airport, the three Black Ravens and Becky set out with him to find the house that his had apparently been left by his friend. Even though it wasn't the furthest away from the Weathered Duke's Hotel that it could have been, the group still managed to wander into completely different territory than they were familiar with. The houses surrounding them were all tall and grand here, with no signs of even any shops nearby – purely a residential area. And it looked like the residents it housed were of a particular class.

“Are ya sure this is the right way?” Crow asked, as they all regarded the fancy houses in awe, “I bet a lotta streets in London 'ave the same names. We coulda wandahed into the wrong one.”

“No, this is definitely it,” insisted Umid. Though he did take a look down at the address he was holding before he replied, so even he was seemingly surprised by where they were.

“Ain't ya bin to this street before, Becks? Since ya live around 'ere,” checked Crow.

“This isn't somewhere I've ever needed to go, so I've never really bothered,” Becky dismissed.

“Then why are ya comin' now? If ya don't mind me askin',” Crow pressed, “The Becky I remembah wouldn't skive off work if 'er life depended on it.”

“I'm not skiving!” huffed Becky, “For your information, I've left Max doing my duties for today. He'll manage fine. And the reason I'm coming is so that I can have an idea where to find you all. We are still friends at the end of the day. And part of me does worry about Umid being under the influence of a pickpocket.”

She didn't elaborate on that last statement, but it was enough to confirm what Crow had said earlier about Becky catching him thieving. Whatever she'd done, it had clearly been enough to spook Crow from wanting to get caught doing his usual habits around her from now on.

“I promise I'll do everythin' in my powah to stop Umid from bein' corrupted by my wicked ways,” swore Crow. He put his hand on his heart for emphasis; “Back to the mattah at 'and though, if this is where ya friend's 'ouse is, Umid, then I'm surprised 'e lives in such a posh place.”

Scraps tutted; “I'm not. This guy's rich enough that he can give away what's essentially a holiday home to another person at the drop of a hat. Of course he's gonna have more money than sense.”

“Then I'm kinda surprised ya wanna come along, Scraps. All things considahed,” replied Crow.

“I might not like the rich, but I'm far from above taking advantage of them,” Scraps reminded, “This is just a different way to how I'd normally do it.”

“Perhaps I am being presumptuous, but I do think you would all like my friend if you met him,” Umid cut in, “He's a good man who I do not believe anyone would want to take advantage of, especially not after the kindness he has shown me and my family.”

“Where I come from we call people like that 'chumps',” Scraps chuckled. He was silenced by a swift elbow to the stomach from Crow.

“I'm sure we'd all love to meet ya friend if 'e evah drops by!” Crow corrected.

“Once we have all got settled, perhaps he will. But for we should focus on getting to our new home. It should be around this corner, if the directions are correct,” Umid said.

The small group peered around the corner and Crow let out a long whistle. Badger could only share his sentiment. There was no mistaking the house as being the one left to Umid on his notes, not least because the unusual name, Sharpace Rest, was proclaimed boldly on a metal plaque above the gate, which Badger was later told by Scraps. Everything about it stood alone from the other surrounding buildings. It was completely detached and even had it's own garden, albeit an overgrown one. The tall, black fence was both classy and defensive enough to let strangers know they were not welcome there. A large part of Badger couldn't help but wonder about the sort of person who owned a place like this. Well, before it had been given to Umid, anyway.

“It's not quite Barde Manor, but I guess it'll do,” Scraps dismissed.

“It's close enough though,” murmured Crow.

Umid unlocked the gate and the five of them made their way through. He was careful to shut it behind them again, since none of them fancied being followed by anyone who might be curious about this previously abandoned building suddenly becoming occupied once more. They walked the little way up the path to the front door, then Umid took a second key from the chain to unlock that as well. The air was silent as they all tensely waited to be through the door.

Their footsteps echoed on the wooden floorboards as they walked inside and, even though he tried to be careful about it, the door still made a loud thud when Umid pulled it shut behind them all. Just from the entrance, Badger could tell that the house was too big for one person to live in on their own. It was maybe lucky for Umid that he'd ended up with three extra house-mates to fill the place up with.

“Fancy...” Becky whispered, voicing what was on everyone's mind.

“So, this friend o' yours...” Crow checked, “...Wot was 'e like exactly?”

“Like no one I have ever met before or since,” answered Umid, “I doubt you would have ever met anyone like him either. Actually, that's him on that portrait up there, although he looks younger than he is now.”

He was gesturing towards a large framed picture that dominated over the hallway. Upon it stood a humble-looking bespectacled man who Badger assumed was Umid's friend, along a woman who had a stern-but-kind face. Held between them was a young girl with messy hair. Perhaps that was his family, although Badger couldn't read the text below it. Not that he needed to, as Crow soon did it for him.

“Professah Desmond Sycamore, Mira Shapace an' their beloved daughtah, Anne,” he read aloud, “Guess this guy was a pretty big deal to 'ave a fancy paintin' like this one.”

“They look like they were a happy family,” Becky observed.

“For a short time I believe they were,” Umid agreed, “Unfortunately, by the time I met Professor Sycamore, his partner and child had already passed away.”

“That's so sad... Maybe it's why he didn't want to stay in this house,” wondered Becky.

Although he couldn't speak for Sycamore, Badger knew that was exactly how he felt when his own mother left him. He and his dad had been lucky that soon after her passing, his dad had found a job at the old factory in Misthallery. Since he couldn't imagine staying in Manchester without his mam there...

“Well, his loss is our gain,” Scraps hummed.

“Scraps!” Crow and Badger called out to him in unison. They looked completely mortified.

“Let's just... split up and have a look around,” Umid suggested, before anything else could be said, “It's a big house, so it makes more sense for us to cover it at our own paces and then meet back here when we're finished.”

“Works for me,” Scraps grunted.

With that he was off down one of the corridors without so much of a backwards glance. Knowing Scraps, he probably didn't feel bad about his tactless words, but was just eager to get on with checking out where they could be potentially living for the foreseeable future. In that respect, Badger couldn't blame him. Though he didn't personally fancy wandering alone in such an eerie place, so instead he waited for Crow to leave and followed him. Presumably Becky and Umid went their own ways after they'd gone.

“You've been quiet this mornin', Badge',” commented Crow, after they'd gotten far enough away from the others, “I mean not that ya ain't always quiet, but more so than usual.”

“Just been thinking,” Badger evaded.

“Fair enough, there's a lot goin' on to think about right now. But if ya... well, if ya need to talk, that's wot I'm 'ere for,” reminded Crow.

“Thanks,” mumbled Badger.

However, in truth Crow was the last person he could talk to about what had been on his mind. He felt incredibly selfish about his worries, considering that there were much more important things going on right now and Umid was showing them an unwarranted kindness by letting them stay here. But the thing that was hanging around Badger's head the most was Crow and Umid. Even now Badger didn't feel comfortable asking Crow about his relationship with Umid, but he didn't need to for him to see that Crow was still smitten over him. As for Umid, his feelings were less clear, seemingly even to Crow. Umid hadn't been back in London very long, but so far the whole time he'd been surrounded by enough other people for the two of them not to have a moment to themselves. Part of Badger dreaded what might happen then they finally did get that moment together. Even if it was wrong of him to feel that away... Their business was theirs alone, right...?

He was snapped out of these thoughts when Crow suddenly stopped in his tracks, which almost caused Badger to walk into him. Crow muttered an apology, then took a step backwards. The floor creaked under his foot, but Badger didn't see a reason to be bothered by this. They were in an old house, of course floorboards would creak.

“Get off the rug, would ya, Badge'? An' 'elp me shift it,” Crow suddenly said.

“Dunno if we should be doing stuff like that in Professeh Sycamore's 'ouse, Crowlo,” argued Badger. Not that his protests stopped him from following Crow's exact instructions.

“It's Umid's place now though,” reminded Crow, as the two of them tugged the old rug away.

“Yeah, but then mebbe we should be asking Umid 'ow 'e feels about... about... oh,” Badger mumbled.

His words were stopped by the sign of an indent in the floor. It was unmistakeably a trapdoor that led to who-knew-where. And they had found it hidden under a rug in the corridor.

“Don't get many basements in 'ouses on this side o' the pond,” Crow mused, as he pulled the trapdoor open, “Most people build up, not down.”

“We should tell the othehs about this...!” Badger dutifully insisted.

However, by the time he said that Crow was already waist-deep into the trapdoor and grinning up at him. Badger gulped. He already knew how this was going to go.

“Where's ya sense o' adventure, Badge'?” purred Crow, “We'll let 'em know aftah we're done. An' besides, maybe they're already discoverin' tons o' othah secrets in this place all for themselves.”

Somehow Badger doubted that, but he wasn't going to argue when it was obvious that Crow was set on checking this place out no matter what he said. As Badger followed him down into the basement, he reassured himself that the house looked as if it had been empty for long enough that this basement had also gone without anyone checking on it. Meaning it was unlikely that they'd find anything important in it. From his portrait, Sycamore didn't look like the sort of person who was hiding any skeletons in his closet. Perhaps he didn't even know that the basement was there.

“Shoulda brought a light,” Crow sighed.

“Gimme a sec,” replied Badger.

He reached into his bag and, after some fumbling, pulled out a small torch. It was thin and not very powerful, but it gave them a stream of light that they could see the room by.

“Cor, that's well-prepared o' ya,” marvelled Crow.

Badger just mumbled in reply. Part of him felt that maybe he was too prepared, but now that they'd moved out of Misthallery he couldn't stop himself from taking Roddy's request to look after Crow all the more seriously. There were no safety nets now. If something was to happen then Badger needed to be as ready as he could be to deal with it. And carrying a torch around was a small way he could do this, given how clueless he was about whatever Crow intended to do here in London. You never knew what you might need.

He spent a few minutes panning the light across the room, both of their eyes following it in silence. The sight that greeted them was a wreck. Whatever this basement might have been used for in the past, it seemed that the last person in it had cleared out in a hurry. There were scattered boxes, papers and other supplies all over the floor. It looked like a criminal's den, with anything particularly incriminating whisked away from unwanted hands. Honestly, Badger hadn't been expecting that.

“It's a total mess,” he said, “But it doun't look like there's much in 'ere. Guess we can show the othehs lateh.”

Crow didn't reply right away. The pause was enough to worry Badger, so he shone the light in his friend's direction. What greeted him was a manic smile, as Crow regarded the room with wide eyes. There was a plan brewing in that head of this.

“Don't ya see it?” asked Crow, turning to look at Badger, “Right 'ere is the base o' operations for the newest chaptah o' the Black Ravens!”

“Crow... what?”

But Crow had already turned to make his way back up and out of the trapdoor. A hapless Badger followed along behind him, feeling fortunate that his long legs meant that Crow couldn't get that much distance from him, even in this determined state.

“No, yer can't do this, Crow,” Badger called, as he caught up with him, “This is Umid's 'ome now and yer doun't wanneh bring trouble t' 'is doorstep.”

“It'll be fine,” promised Crow, “I just need to talk to Umid an-”

Badger grabbed Crow's arm to pull him to a halt. He realised a little too late that they'd gotten close to the entrance again and Umid was watching them from where he was seemingly about to head upstairs. Becky and Scraps weren't anywhere in sight.

Swallowing his nerves, Badger pressed in close to Crow.

“This is a big risk!” he hissed.

Crow's body seemed to go limp from both being made to stop and from the impact of Badger's words. Whether or not it had fully dawned on him before, it was apparent now that he knew this was true. The Black Ravens had been a trusted secret between a small group of friends for years. And even if the secret had finally begun to leak out back home in Misthallery, here in London they were nothing but three people with far-fetched dreams. They would be essentially admitting to Umid that they were intending to break the law and who knew how a gentle soul like Umid would take that. Badger didn't know enough about Umid to be sure that he wouldn't throw them out, go to the police or worse still, tell Becky about it.

But then Crow looked back at Badger. His visible eye was brimming with a sort of hopelessness that Badger knew all too well. Crow was aware that this was a gamble, but even so he wanted to go through it anyway.

“Please, Badge'... I need to do this,” he whispered.

With a heavy sigh, Badger let go of Crow's arm. Then he shrugged his bag off his shoulder and thrust it into the hands of an understandably confused Crow.

“...'ere, yer should take that,” Badger insisted, “I wanted t' be prepared for owt and there's summit in there yer might need if yer gan t'... tell Umid about us.”

Crow smiled affectionately; “Thanks, Badge'.”

“Is everything all right?”

Umid had started to walk over while they'd been talking. He looked concerned by whatever had caused Badger to grab onto Crow. Though, in his usual fashion, Crow managed to dismiss any worries with a wave of his hand and the right amount of attitude.

“Nothin' to worry ya pretty little 'ead about, Umid,” assured Crow, “In fact, there's somethin' amazin' that I wanted to show ya.”

“I can hardly pass up something amazing,” Umid replied, with a small laugh. From the sounds of it, he was used to Crow's melodrama.

Perhaps at that point Badger should have let the two of them go off by themselves, but he didn't. There was no doubt in his head that Crow would spin words that painted the Black Ravens in a better light than they truly were and while he wasn't so sure about Umid, there was a good chance that he might agree to all this. However, this time Badger wanted to be exactly in the know about what had been said. He was sick of being strung along on Crow's puppet show with blind faith alone.

If Crow had any objections to Badger coming with him and Umid, he didn't voice them. Though given that he seemed to be in full showman mode, part of Badger suspected that he was just happy to have even more of an audience.

Of course Umid was surprised by the sight of the open trapdoor and maybe even a little miffed that they'd gone down into it without first checking with him, but all the same he followed Crow beneath the floor. Badger came along behind them, after a quick glance around to make sure that neither Scraps nor Becky had seen them.

“Is this what you wanted to show me?” Umid checked, as he peered around into the gloom, “I don't mean any offence by this, but it is... not actually all that impressive. Having a basement is nice and I'm sure we could find use for it once we clean it up, but I cannot see why you would get so excited over it.”

“Nah, the basement is only the beginnin',” Crow answered.

He set the torch down on the floor so it was shining on one of the far walls. Both Umid and Badger watched the light as Crow rummaged around in the bag. Then Badger smiled. It seemed the Crow had found exactly what he'd been looking for.

A tall, hooded figure stepped into the light. The Black Raven peered over at them both through the wide eyes of its mask, arms raised dramatically. Umid let out a small gasp. When Crow spoke again it was fully in the creepy tones of the Black Raven, an exaggerated version of Crow's own voice.

“Welcome, my dear friends,” proclaimed Crow, “I'm honoured to announce that I, the Black Raven, 'ave found my newest 'ome.”

While Badger couldn't see Umid's face, he could only imagine the shock it held at the sight before them. It took all of his efforts to hold back a giggle.

“W-what is this...?” Umid asked.

It turned out that Badger didn't need to laugh, as Crow had descended into his own notorious chuckling that often came along with the Black Raven. They watched as Crow shuffled in the costume. He took off the mask and let the supporting props droop a bit, so the Black Raven seemed to deflate back down to Crow height.

“This is the Black Raven,” informed Crow, “It's... kinda the job I was so secretive about the first time I stayed with ya in London.”

“What kind of job has you dress up in such a strange outfit?” questioned Umid.

“Not one I'd be able to sum up easily, to be truthful,” Crow confessed, “But... would ya believe me if I said that some o' wot I do is less-than-honest?”

“Somehow I'm not struggling to imagine that,” Umid hummed.

“Y-yeah, well... the Black Raven is part o' that,” Crow started, “Back 'ome in Mist'allery, me an' my friends, the ones I showed ya on that photo, we run our own black market. Nothin' that could 'arm anyone, mind you. We fix up junk we find an' sell 'em on as works o' art for a profit. We've kinda become a bit o' a big deal, if I'm braggin'.”

“I see,” murmured Umid, though it sounded as if he didn't see at all; “But then why would you come here, so far away from your successful business?”

Crow sighed, “That's the thing. We're doin' well, really well. So much so that I kinda feel like I've outgrown wot I could do back there. I wanted to challenge myself. An' luckily for me, Scraps an' Badgah decided to come along with me, so I don't get myself killed.”

“Someone 'as t' look out fer you,” Badger loyally mumbled.

“Okay, I can understand your friends not wanting you to get hurt,” said Umid, seeming glad to finally have something in the conversation he could grasp onto, “But if I'm following your words right, it sounds like you are saying you want to start a black market business in my basement.”

“Not just the basement. Back at the auction 'all an' even Barde Manor we 'ad to devote a lotta space to all the stuff that goes on be'ind the scenes. But mostly the basement, yeah,” confirmed Crow, without even a hint of shame.

Even in the dark, Badger caught sight of Umid moving his arms to fold them across his chest.

“You have not yet explained to me why I should agree to this,” he insisted. His voice sounded so confident and even held a touch of arrogance, not too far away from Crow's own. Suddenly Badger felt that he could see why Crow found Umid so attractive.

“I'm 'urt that ya wouldn't wanna jump in just 'cause it's me,” whined Crow. The torchlight showed that he was smirking confidently; “All right then – if ya let me do this then I'll let ya in on the game. I'll let ya be a Black Raven. That'll mean ya get a cut of both the work an' the profits. An' believe me when I say this isn't somethin' ya should sniff at. We don't make these offahs lightly – the last two people who joined 'ad to work with us for ages before we let 'em in for propah.”

“Um, 'e's not lying about that...” Badger whispered to Umid. Poor Arianna and Tony had certainly been strung along by Crow for a lot longer than Badger would have done before he finally made their involvement with the group official.

“This is all what Becky would describe as dodgy,” Umid pointed out, “So you're telling me that you had two people work very hard for you and only after that did you decide to let them be part of your business. Yet now you are asking me to join without even seeing if I can do the work you want me to?”

“Be be fair, 'e didn't fancy those otheh two like he does you,” Badger retorted, before he could stop himself.

“Badge'!” Crow cried.

But Umid silenced them both by holding up his hands into the light.

“The way this looks to me, you are left without any other choice,” he reasoned, “If I refuse to agree to your terms, you will have no place to hold your black market and potentially also no place to live. It will set you back a long way if I do not join your group.”

Crow shook his head; “Actually, ya wrong there. It'd only set us back to yestahday. We came to London without a place or a solid plan. We were gonna stay at the Dukes until we figured somethin' out an' work as 'ard as we could to get where we wanted to be.”

“You certainly are determined,” Umid replied, sounding at least a little impressed.

“I am,” Crow assured.

“In that case, I guess I can agree to this. Perhaps it will take me a while to learn exactly what it is you are doing with this black market, but you are an interesting person and I am interested enough to let you, um... string me along, is it?” checked Umid.

Crow laughed; “Sure, that'll do.”

“Welcome to my world,” Badger grumbled.

“Now let's go find the othahs,” instructed Crow, as he reached down to pick up the torch, “We can talk more about this latah, though if it's all right with ya, I'd rathah not tell Becky about it just yet.”

“I understand,” Umid agreed, “Although if this is anything like the last secret we kept from her I can imagine she will learn of it before too long.”

“We'll cross that bridge if we come to it,” dismissed Crow, “For the moment we 'ave a lot more to sort out. Startin' with getting' all our stuff 'ere from the 'otel an' then clearin' this basement out. I can already tell that Scraps is gonna love this.”

The three of them climbed up from the basement and closed the trapdoor behind them as quietly as they could. In a silent agreement about keeping the secrecy for the moment, Badger and Umid both pulled the rug back over the top of it. Because otherwise there was a risk that Scraps or Becky might happen across it in their own explorations of the house, assuming they hadn't already. While they moved the rug, Crow made to stuff both the torch and the Black Raven outfit back into Badger's bag, mumbling about how it was a miracle Badger could get both outfit and props in there to start with. Though with a great effort he did eventually manage to fasten the bag shut once more.

“That's that then,” he concluded, with a smile to them both.

There were nods of agreement, then the three of them set off to find the others or at least pretend to be having a proper look around the house as they did. But in their hearts they all knew that was definitely not that. Instead that was the beginning of something much bigger that was about to unfold.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crow wants to talk to Badger about his comment from the previous day, but Badger isn't ready to face him just yet. In fact, he has a matter of his own that he wants to see to before anything else.

By the time Crow came downstairs the next morning, Badger had already been up for at least an hour. In fact, Crow was the last one of them to get out of bed that morning. Umid had already made a start on clearing out the basement they'd discovered and Scraps was also lurking about, though he seemed to be mostly in a sulk that Umid had asked them not to go back into the basement until he'd finished. As far as Badger could tell, Scraps hadn't been too annoyed about them keeping quiet about the basement initially, but he was annoyed at not being allowed in there now he did know about it.

“There's something not right about that,” Scraps seethed, as Crow's footsteps on the stairs echoed behind them.

Badger shrugged; “I reckon yer worrying too much. That stuff might be Mr. Sycamore's, yeah? Makes sense that Umid would want t' get it outteh the way in case there's summit private.”

“Maybe. But I wonder what that Sycamore guy has that's worth hiding,” grumbled Scraps.

“Oi, 'aven't we all got biggah stuff to worry about at the moment...?” Crow checked. The effect of his question was slightly ruined by a stifled yawn he gave after it.

“Fair point,” agreed Scraps. And he sounded as blunt as he usually did; “I'm going to remember this though. Maybe Umid is your friend, Crow, but I still hardly know him at all and this determination to hide Sycamore's belongings seems suspicious.”

“We're in Sycamore's 'ouse, there's no way Umid can 'ide all 'is stuff,” Crow dismissed, “I still think there's nothin' to get worked up about though. Umid's a trustworthy one an' in time ya gonna see that as well.”

“Hmm.”

That was the last response they got from Scraps before he went about his way. Somehow Badger wasn't worried about the whole thing, however. Scraps was a thorough person who never let anything slide. If there was something to be concerned about amongst the Professor's belongings, then he would find out about it. And if there wasn't, then they had nothing to worry about. That was all there was to it.

Crow turned to look at Badger once Scraps had disappeared and his visible eye widened when he saw that Badger had a bag slung over his shoulder. He was dressed to go out.

“Ya 'eaded off somewhere, Badge'?” Crow asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah. I've got some... stuff I want t' do today. Nowt big, but I'd ratheh keep it to meself,” evaded Badger.

“Well before ya go, can we talk? I wanna clear up about yestahday,” Crow hurriedly checked.

Badger shook his head; “Doun't feel like talking about it right now, Crowlo.”

The worry in Crow's face was obvious now. He reached forward to grab Badger's hands, which almost caused Badger to jump backwards in shock. He managed to compose himself, but that didn't stop his ears from burning red, due to the stunned embarrassment. Between this and the train, Crow had now held his hands twice recently. But this time was very different to on the train.

“Okay, I ain't gonna force ya to talk about it now, but I would like to sometime soon, if that's okay. I don't want ya worryin' about a misundahstandin',” he pressed.

As far as Badger could tell, there hadn't been a misunderstanding at all. Crow liked Umid and Badger had pointed it out. That was all there was to it. The fact that Crow had got himself worked up enough to want to clarify matters was unexpected, but it didn't change the facts. However, Badger knew he should also give Crow the benefit of the doubt.

He gently took Crow's hands out of his own and smiled softly across at him.

“Ah'reet, we can talk about this when I get back,” Badger promised.

“Thanks, Badge',” mumbled Crow, “I 'ope that wotevah ya need to do today goes well.”

“So do I,” Badger hummed.

With that he adjusted the bag on his shoulder, gave Crow a nod and headed out on his way. He didn't want to wait around to say goodbye to the other two as well, since Crow would probably tell them that Badger had gone out if he needed to. The only thing Badger was a little concerned about was the fact that he didn't have a key to get back into the house yet, but he doubted that he would be out long enough to need one and Umid had said he would look into getting extra ones cut as soon as he could.

Once outside, Badger put the troubled thoughts of Crow and Umid behind him, ready to set out on his first task in London. He took a brief look around the street, taking in the cloudy grey morning, and then started on what he remembered as being the way back to the Weathered Duke's Hotel. This time he could walk at a more leisurely pace, so he took the chance to learn about his surroundings. All of the houses here were tall and cut-off, it wouldn't be easy to use them to jump around on as the Black Raven. They'd have to plan carefully if they intended to do that.

But as he got back into the less rich areas, Badger soon saw that London had just as much character to it as Misthallery did. Many of the houses in these parts were a little more like the ones he was familiar with – alleyways and low ledges to provide plenty of places to hide or run about on. Perhaps this wouldn't be a lost cause after all.

It wasn't long before Badger arrived at the hotel, just in time to catch some of the guests filing out after breakfast. He shuffled by them awkwardly, then made his way quietly to the front desk, where Becky was stood. She raised an eyebrow curiously as he approached.

“Oh, it's you. You're one of Crow's friends, aren't you?” she checked.

“Badgeh, yeah,” confirmed Badger.

“And what brings you back to our lovely hotel?” Becky asked.

“I, eh, wanted t' ask yer a favour. Just... if yer eveh not busy, like,” muttered Badger. He felt the confidence drain out of him. Suddenly his plan didn't seem like such a good idea.

“If you tell me what it is then I'll see what I can do,” Becky offered, clearly not wanting to commit to something before she knew the details about it.

Badger took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

“It's kindeh weird, so if yer doun't want t', then I'll undehstand, but... I need t' open a bank account,” Badger explained. And when Becky looked at him in confusion, he elaborated, “Where we come from, back in Mist'allereh, none of us eveh needed one. We worked 'ard, but we shared the moneh out between us all and then did what we wanted with it. B-but we're not kids any more. We can't do that foreveh. Except Scraps doesn't trust stuff like that and Crow likes t' live in the moment. I doun't reckon eitheh of them would be keen on the idea. But the more I think about it, the more I want t' 'ave summit like a safety net fer if things go wrong. I need t' start putting my moneh somewhere t' save it.”

Becky nodded.

“That's sensible, yeah,” she replied, “Though I don't see what you need me for.”

“Well... um, I kindeh c-can't read or write...” confessed Badger, “I need someone t' 'elp me with that stuff, but I doun't want t' ask Crow or Scraps about this and... Umid, uh, Umid's busy a lot.”

The truth of the matter was that Badger definitely didn't feel comfortable enough around Umid to ask him for help with something along those lines. But he wasn't lying about Umid being busy right now, so that half-truth would suffice. With those three out of the way, Becky was Badger's last option for this. Though since she knew London and seemed to have a good business head, he thought that she'd be a reliable person to ask.

“You're lucky that I'm a bleeding heart,” Becky answered, “I'll call Max to cover for me here and we can head out. Honestly though, this is two days in a row that I've been away – Granny's not going to like that.”

“Thanks so much!” Badger gasped. He felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

“I helped Max open his bank account not long ago, so you've got yourself an expert here,” proclaimed Becky, “Just make sure you bring all the legal documents and proof of who you are. Without those we won't get very far at all.”

In response to that, Badger gestured towards the bag on his shoulder. It had been some time before he'd left Misthallery that he'd crept back into his old house and gathered up whatever documents he felt were about him and seemed important. Part of him worried that he might have taken the wrong ones, what with no way to check, but at the same time he knew that he would need them and that they'd do him better here than they would back in an empty house. Hopefully his dad would understand if he ever did go back there.

“Glad you're prepared then,” approved Becky, “Just give me a minute.”

It didn't take long for her to find Max and bribe him into staying on the desk while she went out. Becky reasoned that it was set to be a quiet day, since they were in the middle of the lull where the hotel wasn't busy, after summer and before the Christmas season. She also promised that she'd bring him back a copy of the Radio Times, which seemed to make Max happy.

With the front desk sorted, Becky and Badger left. This time Becky knew exactly where she was going, so she walked quickly and with more assurance than she had done on their trip to Sharpace Rest. It didn't take them long to get to the building that Badger assumed was the bank. To Becky the place seemed like nothing, but Badger was a little in awe of it. There was a set of wide steps that led up to the front entrance, where men in suits were walking in and out, each seeming to be very busy. On a normal day Badger would dismiss this place as being too grand for him to have anything to do with. Honestly, he felt exactly like that about it even right now. But Becky didn't seem to think so at all, she proudly walked right up to the door, even though she was still dressed in her work pinafore, and pushed in. Badger hurried along behind her.

The inside of the building seemed to absorb the sound. There were still just as many important-looking people here, but the thick doors and walls must have drowned out the noise from the streets outside. If Badger felt intimidated before, then it was nothing compared to how he felt now.

Seeming to get the impression that he felt that way, Becky pointed him towards a row of seats in front of some small tables and told him to wait there while she went to talk at the counter. He was glad of this and went to sit quietly out of the way until she came back.

By the time Becky rejoined him, Badger had already begun to take the documents out of his bag, hoping that they'd be all of the ones that he needed. Certainly Becky had a lot of forms with her when she returned, so it seemed like it was going to be a busy day.

“They're fine with me filling these out on your behalf, but you will have to sign the bottom of each document yourself,” Becky told him, “So right now all you have to do is answer the questions and pass me whatever personal document I need for reference.”

“R-right,” Badger answered, with a nod.

“Okay then, to start off with they're gonna need your name,” prompted Becky.

“Badgeh.”

“No, really. I need your real name. This is important.”

Part of Badger wanted to be vigilant, since it was Crow's honour that he was defending here and as far as he was concerned, he was Badger. But at the same time, he knew he wasn't going to get through this by being difficult.

“Simon Walkeh,” he murmured.

“Simon Walker,” Becky sounded out, as she wrote it down on the sheet, “That's a nice name. I can't help but wonder why you all use these code names when you have good names already.”

“Crow likes them,” answered Badger, defiantly.

“There's a surprise. So what's his name then? And the other guy, too?” Becky asked.

“Doun't think Crow would want me t' say. And I honestly dunno about Scraps,” said Badger.

He'd only even found out about Crow being called Thomas because of his mother. As for the rest of the Black Ravens, he didn't ask questions unless they wanted him to know. Louis, Marilyn and Gus were all famous amongst the group for having rejected Crow's nickname system, he assumed that Roddy was probably just short for something similar, he only knew that Wren & Socket's surnames were Turner because that was what their mum was called, but he didn't know about their first names, and Scraps was a complete mystery in every regard.

“Moving on then,” Becky concluded, “How old are you exactly? They need your date of birth.”

“I dunno fer sure,” admitted Badger.

He felt as useless as a lead balloon about questions like that, but he'd stopped keeping track a while ago. One year blended into the next back in Misthallery, so as long as he could keep doing what he'd always done it had never mattered all that much. It was only when so many things began to change that he'd harshly had to realise that nothing lasted forever...

Thankfully for him, Becky was more on the ball. She reached across the table and took one of the pale coloured documents that Badger had brought with him. He'd assumed that this had been his birth certificate and it turned out he was right.

“Huh, according to this you're eighteen,” she read out, “That's good. There won't be any problems for you to open an account at this age.”

“Wh-what?” Badger stammered.

“Is there a problem? I thought this was what you wanted,” checked Becky.

“It is... it's fine. Um, sorreh...” gaped Badger, hardly able to get his words out.

Eighteen. He was eighteen. And he'd never had any idea! S-sure, he'd got the impression that he was older than he thought he was and a lot of time had passed since they'd first started doing this Black Raven thing, but he was apparently classed as an adult now, even just barely, and this was the first he was hearing about it. But the Black Ravens were always distrusting of adults! Even if... Crow was a little older than he was, so that must have meant that he was also the same age as well. He wondered if any of them knew for sure. Though given that Louis and Marilyn were the oldest of the group, they were probably well aware of it at least. They could have let the rest of them know!

Badger felt the rest of the questions go by in a daze as his mind kept dwelling on that matter. It shouldn't have been a big deal and in fact it wasn't really, given that they were currently starting a new life for themselves in London, so it made sense that they'd be old enough to do just that. All the same, it felt jarring. If Badger had been even just seventeen instead then he would have felt better about it.

Though amongst all of his internal worrying, it seemed that the day went by quicker than he'd expected. It turned out that through some miracle he had managed to bring everything that he'd needed and then some, so all that was left to do was to sign the papers where Becky told him to. Once that was out of the way she took the forms back to the counter and talked with them again for a while before coming back to him.

“Well, it looks like you have an account here now,” she announced, “It's maybe not as simple as all that, but you just need to take these and you can start paying into the account whenever you like. Actually, you need to make a small deposit now, so I hope you brought some change. And I acted as your character reference. Don't worry, I gave you a glowing report.”

Once these few little details were dealt with, the two of them left. Badger walked with Becky back to the Weathered Duke's Hotel, the two of them stopping briefly at a news agents to pick up the magazine for Max. When they got back to the hotel Badger thanked Becky once again and set off on his own for the rest of the way back to his new home. It was still light outside, so he reckoned that it wasn't too late, but all the same he had been gone for a while.

Back inside the house, Umid, Crow and Scraps were sat in what they'd decided would be the living room, seeming to be going over some plans. From the looks of things, Umid was long finished moving the papers and junk out of the basement, though Badger doubted that Scraps had forgotten about them. Crow got to his feet when he saw Badger lurking by the door. He motioned for the other two to carry on with whatever they'd been talking about, then walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

“Glad to see ya back,” he said, “Did everythin' go well?”

“Yeah, it did,” Badger answered.

“Ya not gonna tell me any more than that though, are ya?” Crow questioned.

“Nah, sorreh,” replied Badger, with a shrug, “Yer not missing owt interesting though, so doun't fret about it.”

The two of them walked through the hall together, to a quiet room at the back of the house that they were yet to designate a role to. There was a alcove at the far end, with some seats looking onto a window that showed the garden. In the summer this would probably be a nice place to lounge about and Badger could instantly imagine the three people from the portrait in the entrance sharing an afternoon here together. Right now though it was just him and Crow, both awkwardly taking a seat next to each other.

Badger waited for Crow to talk. He had more to say, after all.

“About yestahday,” Crow started. It seemed like he'd needed to work his way up to this, “I maybe gave ya the wrong impression. Me an' Umid, we did call it off. The last time we went to London aftah... well, aftah we found ya passed out in that street. I knew that I couldn't stay an' Umid also 'ad plans to go 'ome to Mosinnia back then, so it didn't make sense to keep things goin' when we weren't sure if we'd even see each othah again.”

“Ah'reet,” said Badger, with a nod, “Be yer do still like 'im.” There was no point beating about the bush with that.

“N-nooo, not... really...” Crow whimpered, unconvincingly.

It was strange to see Crow like this, but somehow Badger felt that he couldn't get angry with him. He was upset, sure, but now that he'd had time to let it settle he could trick himself into thinking that he would be okay. So Badger shuffled to face Crow and gave him a doubtful smirk.

“Wheneveh 'e's in the room it's like there's no one there except 'im. Suddenly everything yer do becomes about impressing 'im, because what else mattehs otheh than what 'e thinks of yer? And when 'e looks yer way, it's like all of the wind gets knocked outteh yer sails, but yer so, so lucky that 'e'd look at yer at all. Even if it's not the same way that yer looking back at 'im,” Badger theorised, “...Trust me, I know those feelings.”

Crow couldn't meet his eyes any more. Instead he looked down into his lap.

“Badge'... I'm so sorry...” he whispered.

“Doun't be,” Badger dismissed, “I doun't want yer to not be 'appy with Umid just because yer feel bad about me. Honestly, I'd be angry if yer did that outteh pity.”

Suddenly Crow did look sharply back up again. He stared right at Badger and even pressed forward where he was sat.

“I don't just like ya outta pity!” he stated.

“Eh... I-I neveh said yer did like me, Crowlo,” Badger clarified, “I meant... um, if yer didn't go out with Umid because yer pitied me.”

As Crow realised exactly what he'd said, he drew back in on himself. Now he looked so tiny and lost. If only Badger could reach out to him then maybe it'd be okay, but there was no way he could do that right now.

There was a long pause in which neither of them knew what to say. Then, just as Badger was starting to hope that the other two would come and interrupt them, Crow spoke up.

“...No mattah wot else 'appens, I'm not gonna be with Umid any more,” he said, softly yet firmly, “An' that ain't for you, it's for me. I like 'im an' we 'ad a good time togetheh, not gonna lie about that, but it's ovah now. I'm more interested in bein' Umid's friend an' 'avin 'im join us in the Black Ravens, 'cause I think it'd be good both for 'im an' for us as a team. But nothin' more along the lines that we were back then. That's ovah.”

“But yer like 'im,” Badger insisted.

Crow shrugged.

“It's just a crush,” he reasoned, “I'll get ovah it soon. Not like I was in love with 'im or anythin'.”

With that he got up from the seat and held a hand out to Badger. After a moment of hesitation, Badger took it and pulled himself up. They looked at each other once more, again not sure what to say. For a moment Crow went to reach forward, but then he seemed to think better of it and pulled back. Badger found himself wishing that Crow hadn't had second-thoughts about whatever he was going to do in that moment.

“We should get back to the othahs,” Crow decided, “We've all bin talkin' about our plans for the Black Ravens an' I wouldn't wanna leave ya out.”

“Sounds good,” Badger agreed.

“I'm glad we've 'ad this talk though,” added Crow.

“Yeah, me too,” Badger concluded. And he honestly did feel better about having it all out in the open. Even if he wasn't any less confused about Crow's feelings.

They walked together back through the hallway and to the living room, where Umid and Scraps were waiting. This time the silence between the two of them was a better one and Badger could feel that both him and Crow were at ease with each other properly for the first time since they'd picked Umid up at the airport. They could go forward like this, even if they didn't know where their journey would take them.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Black Ravens decide to hold a practise auction to get themselves ready for trying the real thing in London. What they haven't bargained on is their test audience being so lively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of notes about the references in this chapter – The Antiques Roadshow began airing in the UK in 1979, which is why Max refers to it as being “new”. Of course to anyone in the UK these days, the Antiques Roadshow has been on TV for so many years that it's a staple of the BBC. As for ham 'n' pease pudding, this is actually more specifically a North East English lunch, as opposed to the North West, where Badger comes from. But I figured that it'd probably still be something he'd be familiar with, being from the north in general.

It would have been nice to imagine that they could have gotten the black market auctions up and running in London soon after arriving, but nothing was ever that simple. And although none of them had been under the delusion that it would be a quick task, that didn't change their feelings of how tedious the next few weeks were.

Right away Scraps got to work in gathering new goods to sell. Where those came from was beyond Badger's guess, but Scraps seemed satisfied that in this regard the city had more to offer than Misthallery. From experience, Badger knew that a happy Scraps meant smoother sailing for everyone else. It also seemed that he had dropped his earlier suspicions about Umid in regards to Sycamore, so that was one less headache to worry about.

As for the rest of them, while Scraps was away they were left with the task of redecorating the basement for use in the auctions. That had also taken a few weeks to complete, though none of them were exactly thrilled with the end results.

“We have done the best we can with the space we had to work in,” Umid optimistically stated, as they stood and looked around the room.

“I just wish we'd 'ad more space to work with at all,” sighed Crow.

The main problem was that the basement was small. It was fine enough to be used for its original intention, but when transformed into an auction hall, there was no getting around the fact that it was a massive step down from what they'd had back home. All the same, the Black Ravens had come to London knowing that they were unlikely to get as lucky with a venue as they had done before. This small basement was honestly more than they'd expected to find. And even if it wouldn't house too many people, Badger reckoned they'd done a decent job with the stage and the seating they'd worked on getting in there.

...Or at least he did until Scraps poked his head down the trapdoor to check up on them.

“Is this what you've been doing all the time we've been here?” he commented, “We'll never get a proper auction going in here.”

“Do ya 'ave any bettah ideas then?” Crow snapped. His patience was thin.

“Perhaps it is time we all sat down and had a talk about this,” suggested Umid, in an attempt to keep the peace.

“Sure, but come out of that hole so I can see you all,” Scraps demanded.

On that note he withdrew his head just in time to miss the angry glare Crow shot in his direction. Not that this would have bothered Scraps anyway. And even if he had been sharp about it, the three of them knew that he was right - the basement was never going to be the best place to hold a group meeting. They'd yet to find any source of electricity down there and had resorted to carefully placed torches. While that would make a nice atmosphere for the auctions, it wasn't ideal for sitting around and talking about their plans.

So they climbed out of the basement, pulled the hatch back over it and went through to the living room, where Scraps was waiting. Once they were all sat down, Crow was the one to start them off on their discussion.

“Right now it seems like we've got both enough stock an' a passable place to 'old the auctions,” he began.

“I guess I can't argue with 'passable',” snorted Scraps.

“Look, I know it maybe ain't the best, but we were nevah gonna get an auction 'all like the one we've got in Mist'allery, so we just need to work with it for now,” Crow countered, “In time 'opefully we can find somethin' bettah.”

“Okay, so the basement will have to do,” conceded Scraps, “But what's next? Do you seriously think that just inviting people in here without some sort of practise run is a good idea? Especially when Umid's never done anything like this before.”

Crow nodded, with a serious look about his face. There was no arguing with that point.

“A practise session would be a good idea,” he agreed.

It looked like Scraps was about to speak up again, but he was interrupted by the echoing ring of the doorbell reaching their ears. They didn't get many visitors here, since few people even knew about them, so none of them knew who to expect. Umid was the one who got up to answer it, since this was his house, and the others waited cautiously for him to return.

There was another set of footsteps that joined Umid's in coming back, but it soon became apparent that they had nothing to worry about.

“It's only Max,” Crow sighed in relief, “What brings ya 'ere, kid?”

If Max was bothered by being called kid (none of them were sure of his exact age, but he looked only slightly younger than them), he didn't show it. Instead he walked through and placed four Tupperware boxes one the table in front of them.

“Grand prize, courtesy of the Weathered Duke's Hotel's finest chef,” he announced.

“Good ol' Mags!” cheered Crow.

None of them wasted much time in grabbing a box and digging in. With everything else that had been going on, none of them had thought much about eating, but with lunch suddenly delivered to them, that all changed. It might just have been ham 'n' pease pudding sandwiches, but they were the best ones that Badger had ever tasted. He wasn't even usually all that bothered about meaty food, but something like this made him think of being back up in the north. And while Manchester might have held a lot of bad memories for him, there was no getting around that the food there had been good. Badger let the nostalgia wash over him as he chewed through the sandwich.

After a brief moment of the group being allowed that bliss, Scraps decided to get them back on track.

“Okay, so practise auction,” he reminded, waving half a sandwich around as he spoke, “What are we going to do about it?”

“Auctions? Like the Antique's Roadshow?” asked Max, his eyes alight with interest.

“The what?” Badger said.

“How can you not know about it?” scoffed Max, “It looks like this contestant hasn't done his research. The Antique's Roadshow is a relatively new TV show in which people travel the country looking to sell old antiques they find in their attics. It's not really a game show, but it's still sort of interesting.”

“Sounds like a rich toff version of what we do,” Scraps grumbled.

“Nah, I don't think so,” dismissed Crow. It was hard for any of them to say for sure, since they didn't have a TV and weren't versed in the sort of shows that Max watched; “Our auctions are more... more...” Crow hesitated and then looked at the other Black Ravens, “...Should we even be tellin' Max about this?”

“It's a bit late now, Crowlo,” Badger pointed out.

The wide-eyed Max was leaning forward so much that he'd almost fallen off his seat. He was clearly desperate to know what they were referring to. So there was no way that they could claim they'd been talking about nothing at this point.

“Perhaps it is not ideal, but I think that Max could solve one of our problems if you tell him about this,” suggested Umid.

“Killin' two birds with one stone,” Crow agreed, “Yeah, all right then. Max, 'ow do ya fancy bein' part o' our first test auction?”

“I get to be a contestant on a game show?” gaped Max.

“Um, if ya wanna see it like that, sure,” Crow replied.

“Sign me up!” cheered Max.

“That's the attitude I like to see!” Crow complimented, “So let me fill ya in on all this. Wot we're plannin' to do 'ere is 'old auctions where we sell art an' antiques. Nothin' sinistah, but we do like to do it undah the guise o' a black market, 'cause it makes the 'ole thing more excitin' for the puntahs. So we invite only a few people, ones that we deem worthy an' rich enough to take part in our auctions. Me, Badge' an' Scraps 'ave bin doin' this for years, but this is our first time doin' one in London, so we need to practise before we let anyone in for real. Which is where you come in, Max.”

Max stayed silent for a while, seeming to digest this information. He was clearly buzzing, so there was no way that he wouldn't agree to it, but this was a lot for him to take in all at once. After the pause, he raised a finger up in the air, as if to ask a question.

“Yeah?” prompted Crow.

“How many contestants do you propose will be playing this game?” Max checked.

Crow thought about this for a moment, then answered, “We ain't too sure yet. Probably less than we're used to, at least while we start out. I guess somewhere between twenty an' thirty people, but even that might be pushin' it.”

“All right. So I am to play the part of twenty to thirty people,” Max summarised.

“Kind... of? Look, we just need someone to go through the motions o' bein' an audience while we practise wot we plan on doin',” answered Crow.

“Very well, you're on the money with me,” assured Max.

Though it would be rude to say it, Badger got the impression that he wasn't the only one who felt uncertain about Max's involvement. But honestly, all he needed to do was sit there and maybe pretend to bid sometimes. There wasn't a lot of room for anything to go wrong.

It seemed that Max was determined to do that as thoroughly as possible though, which was probably for the best. He insisted on going back outside of the door to be let in again when they were ready. Crow simply shrugged and let him get on with it, before disappearing away to pull on the Black Raven outfit.

“I'm doing the lights and atmosphere rubbish, you two deal with our practise boy,” Scraps stated, before also heading off into the basement.

Part of Badger wished that he'd been quicker on the uptake, since he definitely preferred being behind the scenes to dealing with people. But at least Umid was there as well and Max was just one person. Even if he was determined not to act like one.

“Welcome to our gracious home,” Umid smoothly announced, as he opened the door, “Let us lead you to where tonight's auction shall take place.”

“This is a bloody fancy 'ouse! Would yer look at that carpet? I'm scared, I wanna go home! We can't go home, Tommy, we already paid for the taxi here. Don't you forget to wipe your feet, love, wouldn't want to mess up the nice Black Raven's nest now, would we?” Max acted out, as he walked through. Each statement was done in a completely different voice. It was rather bizarre to hear it all coming from the same person at such a speed, like the weirdest improv script that had ever happened.

“Y-yes, this way,” mumbled Umid. He sounded as unnerved as Badger felt, though he did the best he could at keeping calm about it.

As the three of them walked through to the basement's entrance, Max continued to talk as if he was a group of people observing the house. In a strange way, that probably would be how an actual auction crowd would behave, Badger reasoned, he just hadn't been expecting to experience it like this.

“Is that dingy little hole really where we're going, Sonia?” Max asked himself, upon sight of the trapdoor, “Don't be so rude, Bartleby! ...It is very small though. Guess we'll all just have to squeeze through it.”

There was no way to tell right now if the other two were confused by Max's babbling, as Scraps was busy working on the lights and Crow was already stood up on the stage they'd managed to make, dressed in full Black Raven gear. The basement was so small that he didn't even have room to make a grand entrance like he would have done in Misthallery. He had to be just there, waiting.

“Welcome to my auction, dear guests,” Crow boomed, as Badger pulled the trapdoor shut.

“Who's that scary birdie man and why is it all dark? I'm scared, Mammy!” Max wailed.

“Th-there'll be no little kids at the auctions...” Crow stammered, dropping his Black Raven act entirely for a moment.

“All right, I'll revise my act,” promised Max.

“Right... so, ya honoured to be the ones we've selected for our first auction 'ere in the great city o' London,” Crow went on, now back in Black Raven mode, “There will be many more in future, but I like to think that tonight's will be somethin' special. If my lovely assistant would bring forward the first item.”

That was Scraps's cue to make his way onto the stage, now also dressed in costume, albeit one that looked more hastily thrown on than Crow's was. Which was something Badger doubted their leader would approve of, but it would do for this practise session. He placed a small clock onto the table and even without knowing anything about it, Badger could tell that the clock was worth a considerable amount. If that was one example of the wares that Scraps had managed to find here then they at least wouldn't need to worry in that regard.

“Let me tell ya 'ow this is gonna go,” Crow said, “We bring tonight's treasure out one at a time, an' give ya the chance to bid on each one. After all the auctions 'ave bin completed, the winnahs will get to go with our 'umble 'ost ovah there an' retrieve their items in exchange for payment.” He gestured to Umid as he said this, who gave a small nod; “...Those who sadly did not win any auctions will be escorted out, but 'opefully will return to us to try their luck again anothah day.”

“Wait a sec, I can't be both people at once,” Max protested.

“Wot do ya mean?” checked Crow.

“I can't be both the winners going to get their prizes and the losers leaving, not at the same time,” Max pointed out.

“Well, ya just... look, when we get to that bit just take the role o' the people who didn't win, right? We already 'ave the givin' out goods bit covahed, so we're not gonna practise that,” instructed Crow.

In truth it might have been nice to practise this part as well, particularly for Umid, but Max's act had already been draining on them even so far and Badger imagined that by the end of the session they'd just want it to be over with as soon as possible. They could give Umid the run-down on exchanging goods for payment another time.

“Right, so... this clock,” Crow reminded, seeming to be struggling to get his own act back on track, “This is a genuine 'ermle clock from Germany, so we'll begin biddin' at £100, which is a bargain to be sure.”

Naturally, Max exploded into his act as soon as the bidding began. He jumped around from one chair to the next, almost knocking a few over in the process, pretending to be a different person in each one. It was a sight to behold.

“That would go well in my dining room, I'll raise the bid to £125! ...Not on your Nelly, £150! H-hold on now, are you all mad? There's no way we should be bidding on this before we know if it's genuine! I demand to see the manufacturer's print! Well, don't bid if you're so cautious about it, but I refuse to miss out because of your pig-headedness, so I'm raising my bid to £175. If you think you'll steal this clock away from a mastermind like me, then you're sorely mistaken – I call £200 and not a penny less!” Max reeled off, barely stopping to take a breath.

For this first item, Crow just let him get on with it. He didn't even need to say anything until the fake bidding began to wind down, since Max seemed to have it covered.

After that, it appeared that maybe Max had gotten tired of his one-man show. It must be exhausting to keep up, after all. Because for the next trinket that was brought forward he seemed much less interested in the bidding. Though it soon became apparent that this was only because he'd shifted gears into playing the part of a more difficult audience.

“I can't believe he's starting the bidding at £50,” Max yawned, “It's obvious this isn't worth that much.”

“Oi, I'll 'ave ya know this is silvah plated!” argued Crow, unprofessionally, “That price would be a steal!”

“Play another song, piano man. I tire of this one,” Max droned.

“Right... um, yes, I'll lowah the startin' price to £40, but any lowah than that an' I'll 'ave to take this one away for anothah day,” Crow weakly debated, “I need to meet my clients' reserve prices, aftah all.”

In the end, the piece that Max had been difficult about still sold for £170, which was actually impressive, considering how much Crow had to fight to keep that round alive. If nothing else, it certainly was good practise for him to get back into the swing of things.

For each lot, Max played the part of a different audience, throwing anything they might encounter at them. It was an intense time, but eventually even Crow had to wear thin of it all. He slyly signalled for Scraps to stop bringing items forward after about an hour, which Badger couldn't blame him for. It was impossible to tell how Scraps was feeling because of the mask, but Badger reckoned that he was enjoying this and would have kept bringing more goods forward until either Crow told him to stop or he ran out of goods to give. It was maybe for the best that the former had been the one to happen, since Badger didn't fancy being here all evening with this.

“Thank you so much to our... imaginative guests this evenin',” Crow concluded, holding his hands out, “This 'as bin an interestin' look at to all o' the many people London 'as to offah. The Black Raven will be glad to extend 'is welcome to ya anothah time. But for today, would those who won any lots, follow my friend on the right to where they'll receive their new belongin's and those who didn't, follow my friend on the left back to the entrance. I bid ya all a very good night.”

Max pulled himself up. The chair scraped noisily under his feet as he did.

“So I'm following Badger, yeah?” he checked.

“That's right. Badge' will lead ya to the door an' then we're done with this for today,” Crow confirmed, “Aftah that ya can do wot ya like – stay 'ere with us for a while or go 'ome.”

Whatever Max wanted to do once this was over, he didn't make clear. Right now he was far too engrossed in his act. Badger walked over to pull up the trapdoor, keen to get this all finished as soon as possible, but before he could head up to escort Max to the door, he was shoved aside.

“Badge'! Are ya all right?”

Crow was at his side before Badger was sure exactly what had happened. Badger felt him put his arm around him, though his face was still hidden by the mask.

“I'm fine,” mumbled Badger, “But what were that?”

From above them there was a loud crash. Umid bolted up and out of the trapdoor, soon to be followed by Badger, Crow and Scraps. It was too late that it dawned on Badger that the person who pushed him must have been Max.

“The vase! Th-that belongs to Professor Sycamore!” cried Umid, “What in the Phoenix's feathers did you think you were doing?”

Badger didn't know what Umid meant by phoenix feathers, but he could see the scene in front of him easily enough. One of the many ornaments that had been left in the house by its previous occupant lay shattered on the floor.

“I'm a crowd of people in a tiny hallway, you can't expect me not to knock things over,” Max pointed out. Then his expression changed to one of remorse, “I'm s-so sorry... it was an accident! Quick Nigie, we better get out of here before we get in trouble!”

“No, wait!” Crow called.

But it was already too late. Max turned and shot down the corridor, not exactly being careful where he was running. It wasn't that he was purposely trying to knock things over, but anything that got even a little in the way ran the risk of being upset by his journey. The other four gave chase, but although most of them were probably faster than Max, they had the disadvantage of not being prepared for any of this.

Before they could do anything about it, there was a loud smack. The next thing they knew Max was slumped over in front of the door sobbing. None of them could say at this stage if it was genuine or not.

“Ya all right, Max...?” Crow whispered, nervously walking closer.

Max rolled over to face them. Large, angry tears were falling from his eyes.

“No... I want Becky! Why isn't Becky here? I want... I want...”

Whatever else he was going to say didn't make it out of his mouth as he made way for more sobbing. With that he curled up in a ball and began to rock himself.

“I'm going to get Becky,” Umid stated.

There was no room for argument, but none of them wanted to anyway. They all let Umid through, trying not to pay too much attention to the small mark that Max had left on the door with his impact. Once Umid had headed off, the remaining three crouched down next to Max, trying to help him through whatever was happening right now. They did after a while manage to get the crying to calm into sniffles, though that might have had more to do with Max being tired than anything else.

It took a while for Umid to return with Becky, but as soon as the two of them got inside Becky went straight over to Max and cradled him in her arms. He clung onto her, in that moment looking much younger than he actually was, and rested his head against her. She hummed soothingly to Max, like a mother would do, until he seemed to calm.

“We're so sorry,” Crow said to Becky, “We didn't expect any o' this.”

Becky sighed and nodded. For once she didn't look angry at Crow, just worried and concerned.

“Tell me what happened,” she instructed.

Crow did exactly that. Any other day they might have been unsure about letting Becky in on the Black Raven secret, considering how disapproving she had seemed of Crow's thieving, but their actions today had some sort of severe effect on Max, so she needed to know. Crow explained to her, first about them, then about the practise auction and what had happened to Max. Throughout his explanation Becky listened, but when it was over she also had something to say.

“What you did to Max today... it wasn't wrong, but I wish you'd checked with me first,” she started, “He would have enjoyed himself and I'm always happy when anyone will let Max join in with them like that, not a lot of people do... But sometimes things can go too far...”

“We are sorry that this went too far,” Umid insisted.

“Look, Max is a good person and I wouldn't want any of this to scare you off from him,” Becky went on, “But if you're going to do anything like this then use your common sense and talk to me about it first, all right?”

“We will,” Crow assured, “An' don't worry, we ain't gonna think o' Max differently aftah today. To be honest, I reckon 'e did a good job teachin' us wot to expect.”

Max turned his head back towards them again. He sniffed loudly one more time, then smiled up at Crow.

“What do ya say, Max? You an' Becky fancy bein' 'onourary membahs o' the Black Ravens?” offered Crow.

“I literally just finished training up Tony...” muttered Scraps. Badger elbowed him in the side.

“We'll think about it...” whispered Max, for once sounding neither like a game show host nor any other character in his arsenal of acts. Just someone who was very tired, “But right now I just want to go back home.”

“That sounds good to me,” agreed Becky. She helped him to stand up and then looked back at the others; “Wash those Tupperware boxes before you return them.”

“Yes ma'am!” chimed Crow, with a salute.

“And... thank you for coming to get me,” Becky concluded, “Come on Max, let's get you back to the hotel. Your shows will be starting soon.”

The two of them made their way out of the house, with Umid going with them to make sure they had a safe journey back. With the door shut behind them it was like a tension was lifted from the room.

Crow turned to Badger and Scraps; “Wot 'appened today was entirely our fault. I don't want anyone to blame Max for this.”

“Ah'reet,” Badger replied.

“I'm not blaming him at all,” Scraps hummed, “To the contrary, his trail of damage made a very good point and one that I've been worried about for a while – that this place is too small. We can't hold auctions in that basement without something going wrong.”

“But what else can we do? Crow alreadeh said that we're lucky to even 'ave this much,” Badger reminded.

They both looked across at Crow. He was frowning over at the smashed vase further back down the hallway and seemed to be forming a plan in his head. After a moment, he glanced back at the other two with renewed confidence.

“If this place ain't big enough an' this is the only place we've got, then we 'afta make it biggah. Simple as that,” he decided.

“How exactly do you suppose we do that?” Scraps snorted.

“In any way we can. We'll get construction workahs in 'ere if we need to,” Crow replied.

“And pay them with what?” argued Scraps, “In case you haven't realised, we can't make money without auctions. And we can't do auctions without an auction hall. The only reason we haven't starved to death already is because of the kindness of your hotel friends and whatever stash of money that Umid seems to have stuffed away somewhere. We can't afford to pay construction workers.”

Crow smirked wicked.

“All right, ya got me there. But who says we need to pay them if instead we could just... borrow their tools.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the dark of night, Badger, Crow and Scraps set out to find anything that could be useful to them at a nearby construction site. But what they come across is someone who doesn't take very well to intruders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some useless trivia about this chapter – Scraps mentions that he helped out in the repairs of Misthallery by using one of Descole's robots. This is actually a reference to the ending credits of Spectre's Call, where you can see an image of Scraps driving a robot as everyone repairs the town. Also, while I didn't remember this when I started writing him, in Lost Future the place that you find Catanova is in front of the black market that leads onto Chinatown. So it's a funny coincidence that he's now attached himself to this group of black market children. Perhaps deep down Catanova is the true villain who controls all the black markets in the Layton world. Who can say?

Badger wished he could be sure exactly where they were right now, but it was dark and he still wasn't all that familiar with the area. As best he could tell they weren't too far away from the hotel and Crow at least seemed to know where he was going, which was reassuring. All the same, he couldn't put his mind too much at ease, given where they were going and what they intended to do...

“It's not too far off,” Crow said, from up front.

“And what exactly do you have in mind for when we get there?” checked Scraps.

Crow looked back at the them and grinned; “That's the beauty o' it – I dunno. There's no way we can scope this place out propah durin' the day, wot with all the workahs bein' there, so lookin' around it now will let us find out wot might be useful. Maybe we can take some stuff tonight, but we'll probably be comin' back anothah day with more o' a plan.”

“I'm so relieved to hear there's no plan,” retorted Scraps. The sarcasm dripped from his voice.

“Don't be like that, ya love this really,” Crow dismissed.

“Eh, I had been getting a bit bored around the house. And there's only so much stock backlog I can gather before it becomes overkill, since we're not doing any auctions yet. This is at least something different,” agreed Scraps.

The three of them continued to walk through the silent streets. They had reached an unspoken agreement not to tell Umid about their intentions, since it was unlikely someone with a moral-compass as good as his would agree to this. It wasn't as if the Black Ravens were criminals, but sometimes they did resort to less-than-legal means to get the job done. And this was going to be one of those times.

When they'd first arrived in London, Badger couldn't have imagined that it was possible to be anywhere at all without tons of people being all around you, but right now it felt as if it was just them out on these roads. The lack of traffic and other background noises was far too noticeable. Badger couldn't help but focus on the sound of his own breathing. Which he didn't find all that soothing.

“What was- ...argh!”

Both Crow and Badger jumped. It was unusual for Scraps of all people to cry out. Badger fumbled with the torch he'd brought and shone the light in his direction, only to find Scraps flat on the floor and grumbling. A large cat flicked nonchalantly between his legs, purring loudly. As Scraps pulled himself back up, he shot the cat a glare.

“It's only Catanova,” sighed Crow, as Badger turned the torch back off.

“What's he doing following us around?” Scraps tutted.

“Umid's started leavin' some leftovahs out for 'im an' since then 'e's taken a likin' to us,” answered Crow.

Catanova, as he was known, was a stray tom cat who hung around the local area. Apparently he'd picked up that nickname from being particularly amorous towards any and all female cats he encountered. Though from Badger's experience he seemed to be more interested in where his next meal was coming from than anything else.

After that brief interruption they carried on their way, with the occasional shooing sound from Scraps suggesting that their unexpected travelling companion hadn't left them alone just yet. Not that it mattered, since they soon reached the place that Crow was leading them to.

As soon as they lay eyes on it, Badger recognised the construction site from having gone by it a few times before. Even in the gloom of the night there was no mistaking where the surrounding buildings gave way to the large patch of exposed air, littered with half-finished constructs and tall cranes. There were some shacks running down one side of the land, presumably where the workers were staying if they couldn't get home. No one knew for sure what the place was going to be when it was finished, but rumours pointed towards a small shopping centre or something to that effect. Not that it was anywhere near to being completed anyway, so there was little to talk about right now.

It was cut off from the rest of the world by a metal fence and a locked gate. But something like that wouldn't stop Crow once he'd set his mind on going somewhere. The leader hoisted himself up and over the gate, landing with a soft thud on the other side. Badger followed along behind him and then Scraps came last, with slightly more difficulty than the other two.

They peered around, seeing the yard from the inside for the first time. It was clear that the builders hadn't expected anyone to bother coming this far, as things like bricks and cement mixers lay all over the place. In a weird way it almost looked like a messy child's bedroom. Except for in some areas, where clear progress had been made in regards to the walls of the future building – but these were mostly high enough to see from over the fence anyway, so didn't take them by surprise.

“If we're gonna find anything, this is our place,” Crow proclaimed.

“Y-yeah...” mumbled Badger, as he looked around in awe.

Scraps made to reply as well, but then suddenly descended into a hiss of curse words. It seemed that Catanova had followed him even this far, but Scraps's angry tone sent the feline bounding off towards the workers' huts. They watched as Catanova disappeared over a ridge and caused some unseen dogs to start barking angrily.

A light flickered on in one of the windows.

The three of them ducked behind part of the concrete structure as quickly as they could. They waited there for a few minutes until the dogs eventually quietened down again. When that happened, Crow risked a look around the corner.

“Okay, it's all clear,” he whispered, “But we should try to keep it down. Don't wanna let anyone know we're 'ere.”

As they all walked back out again, Badger noted that the light from the window had turned off once more. Whoever had been disturbed probably guessed that the dogs were just barking at a stray and settled down back to sleep. All the same, Crow was right that they'd need to be careful. The last thing they wanted to do was upset any dogs and alert the whole construction site to their presence.

They set off towards the opposite side of the yard, as far away from the shacks as they could get. After a few minutes Badger decided it was a good time to carefully start shining the torch around, as long as he was sure to keep the beam of light close and low to the ground. The three of them watched it shine off various objects as they walked. But while a lot of it looked interesting, they couldn't be sure how much use it'd be to them back at Sharpace Rest.

“What are we even trying to do?” Scraps asked, “At the house, I mean.”

“The entrance needs to be widah an' the basement needs to be biggah,” Crow replied, as if that was as easy as painting by numbers.

Scraps gawked at him; “And how do you expect us to tear Umid's house apart without him noticing!”

“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it; now look ovah there,” Crow demanded.

He pointed on the ground where the torch light had been only a moment ago. Badger moved it back in that direction and sure enough the gleam of a metal container was just visible. They approached it to find a tool kit, forgotten by an absent-minded worker.

“Jackpot...” Badger whispered.

It was unlocked, so Crow pulled it open. Inside were an assortment of tools in all shapes and sizes. Many of which Badger didn't know the first thing about, let alone what they'd be used for. But he didn't need to know those things to be certain that this would be helpful to them. If nothing else came of the trip then they'd have this, at least.

Once it was closed back up, Crow picked it up and put it into his bag. Part of Badger worried that it might be too heavy for the stout leader, but he didn't want to hurt Crow's pride by suggesting that. Regardless, Crow seemed to walk on without too much trouble.

They wandered for a while longer but didn't find anything else nearly as likely to be of use as the tool kit was. Before long Badger started to feel the boredom radiate from the other two. And with boredom came mischief.

“Reckon ya could drive one o' those?” Crow asked Scraps. He motioned towards a vacant crane.

“Pfft! Of course I could!” scoffed Scraps, “Don't you remember when Socket fixed up those spectre-bots for the town repairs back in Misthallery? I was one of the ones who drove those things around.”

“Yeah, but that was then an' this is now,” Crow teased, “I doubt ya could do as good a job in a propah machine like this.”

“Just watch me!”

Badger gasped in horror as Scraps climbed up the side of the crane and pulled the door open. He couldn't be serious about doing something so reckless! But the grin on Crow's face suggested that he wouldn't try to stop him if he did attempt to hijack the crane.

“Yer can't do this!” Badger called, “What if we get caught?”

“It'll only be for a few minutes,” purred Crow, “I'm curious now, so we gotta let 'im try.”

“Some idiot left the keys in this thing! This really is the least secure building site in the world,” Scraps cackled.

The bottom almost dropped out of Badger's stomach as he heard the crane start up. It whirred into life and while the noise it made wasn't the loudest, to Badger it might as well have been an explosion. He turned his head back towards the shacks, but fortunately it seemed that it hadn't been loud enough to stir anyone in that direction. For the moment they were safe.

“Ah'reet, yer made yer point, now geddown!” hissed Badger.

“But I've not even started yet,” Scraps taunted.

He demonstrated by pulling one of the handles inside the crane. It made the hook to lower down at a gentle pace. Nothing too major.

“Cor, ya really are a natural, Scraps,” Crow praised.

To drive that point home, Scraps pulled the handle back, which caused the hook to raise up once more. Except that on it's journey down, the hook had managed to lodge itself in a concrete pipe. As it attempted to pull this up, the pipe instead came loose and toppled over into one of the brick structures. The crack it made echoed throughout the yard.

That was it. The dogs were barking again and the light came on at the same window as before. They heard a door open, but none of them stuck around long enough to find out what followed. Scraps scrambled down out of the crane without even turning the power off.

The barking from the dogs was quickly becoming louder.

“Damn, they're comin'! Let's split up to confuse 'em an' try to get outta 'ere as fast as we can!” Crow instructed.

The three of them darted off, each all too aware of the fact that the metal fence itself was too high to climb easily. They'd have to get back to the gate somehow, but a clear path would be impossible now that they had dogs and probably people after them.

Badger knew that he was the fastest, so he had the best chance with the dogs. He skidded around and scanned the area for them. It wasn't easy to make out in the dark, but he could hear the barks headed towards where he thought Scraps had ran off to.

“Oveh 'ere!” he boldly called out.

That caught their attention. So he turned and sprinted before they could get to him, his route being inconvenienced a little by the various debris that was scattered all over the ground. Part of him felt that could have got to and cleared the gate if he put his mind to it, but there wasn't a chance that he would leave his friends behind.

A quick glance upwards showed that Crow had made it up onto one of the higher structures. But someone was following him. And although Badger couldn't make out who that person might be, it definitely wasn't Scraps. So he rushed over to where Crow was, trying to make a grab for the leg of his pursuer.

What he caught was the bottom of a robe, but only for a brief moment before the momentum of the other person's running whipped it out of his grip again. It was enough though. In the glint of the moonlight Badger had been able to see all the way up that outfit – from the black gown to the almost plague-doctor-like mask that hid the face of its wearer. The Black Raven.

His mouth fell dry. How was that possible? Once he managed to get his voice back he shouted up, hoping that Crow would hear him.

“It's the Black Raven! Whoeveh's following yer 'as the Black Raven on!” he bellowed.

The dogs were almost on Badger's heels now, but then Scraps returned the favour from Badger distracting them before. He rushed across their path. They turned to follow Scraps instead, leaving Badger to bear witness to the scene that was unfolding in front of him.

His words had reached Crow, who turned in an almost dream-like state as he registered what Badger was saying. It was hard to see exactly what his expression was, but Badger could only imagine how shocked he must be to discover he was being chased by his own creation. There was only one other person here who that could be. And it seemed that Crow had reached the same conclusion as Badger about it.

“Umid...!” Crow cried out, his voice echoing across the yard, “Stop! This is a misundahsta-”

But Crow didn't get that far. The Black Raven charged into him, knocking him from where he stood. The two of them fell to the ground together and rolled as they landed. After a few seconds it was the Black Raven who recovered first, punching at Crow again and again.

That was when something inside Badger snapped.

Whoever this person was, they were hurting Crow. Nothing else mattered any more.

Badger flew at the Black Raven, knocking him off Crow and pinning him to the rubble beneath them. No one hurt Crow. Anyone who hurt Crow would face him. His arms moved on their own as they hit out. He could hear his mouth let loose a flurry of insults, but his brain couldn't register exactly what was being said. At this moment he knew nothing except to stop the person who had hurt Crow.

“Badgah! Badge'...! Stop 'ittin' 'im!” screamed Crow, as he pulled himself back up from where he had landed.

“...Badger? What?”

The voice from the Black Raven was not that of Umid. It was deeper, probably thick from being punched to start with, but there was definitely a different quality to it than Umid's. Though at the same time somewhat familiar to Badger. He let dull comprehension wash over him as he slowed his movements to a stop. All he could do now was stare down at the person pinned under him.

As Crow hobbled over to join them, the figure raised a shaky hand to take the mask off its face. Behind it was the last person they expected to see in London.

“...Roddy?”

Both Crow and Badger uttered this in awe. Their friend glared angrily up at them. Then Badger scrambled to get off, suddenly all too aware of how much his hand was stinging from having punched the mask.

Roddy pulled himself up to his feet, looking just as confused to see them as they were to see him. He looked from Badger to Crow, then shook his head.

“Is this what the Black Ravens are doing in the big city?” he muttered.

“Nevahmind wot we're doin' 'ere! Wot about you?” snapped Crow.

The faint sound of the dogs barking could still be heard in the background, but none of them were paying too much attention to that right now. Hopefully Scraps could keep them distracted for a bit longer while they all figured out what was happening.

“This is such a pain,” Roddy sighed, “I'd been trying to figure out where you'd all got to – thanks for not writing, by the way – but I never expected you all just to turn up here like some thieves in the night.”

“Joke's on you, 'cause that's exactly what we are,” Crow chuckled, in a very hollow tone.

“This isn't funny, Crow!” shot Roddy, “It's taken long enough for me and Mum to get down to stay here without you turning up from nowhere to ruin it!”

“Why would the two of yer come t' London?” asked Badger, completely lost as to what was going on with Roddy.

“It's 'cause that's where 'is dad is,” Crow answered, “I'm right, ain't I? I knew ya were tryin' to work stuff out with 'im back when we left, but I nevah expected ya would come 'ere.”

“Yeah, well stuff happens without your knowing about it,” Roddy countered, “But you're right about that. Dad's been... well, he finally got back onto his feet after the underground London fiasco. This is his first big job and we all saved up enough so we could be together again. As long as I helped him here.”

“An' it ain't like ya a strangah to 'ard work,” Crow added.

“Not after everything you put me through, no. You workaholic birdbrain,” Roddy huffed.

There was a loud screech behind them, definitely of the feline variety, followed by a whimpering cry from one of the dogs. A massive, furry, black creature barrelled past them, with Catanova hot in pursuit.

“Sausage, no!” yelled Roddy.

The animal chase situation was soon made worse by another canine joining in to race after Catanova. From what Badger could tell, this one was a mongrel, much smaller than the black one and had reddish-brown wiry fur. Though it was clearly the more fierce of the two, chasing its quarry until Catanova scampered too high up one of the constructs for the dog to follow. Once there Catanova looked back down in mild interest, otherwise seemingly unmoved by what had just happened.

“Heel, Ringo! I said heel!” demanded Roddy.

Upon hearing the voice of its master, Ringo settled down. Though not without one last grumble in Catanova's direction. With that drama out of the way, a tired Scraps came to join them, panting heavily from where he'd been running away from the dogs.

“...That stupid Catanova saved my life...” he murmured, almost in admiration.

“Your cat is called Catanova?” asked Roddy.

“Your dog is called Sausage,” Crow pointed out.

“Fair point,” Roddy snorted, “They're not mine though. Ringo and Sausage guard the yard, but Dad looks after them most of the time. And they're harmless really, just... not when they get worked up.”

“Catanova isn't ours eithah,” explained Crow, “Just a stray who taken a likin' to us 'cause we keep feedin' 'im.”

“Typical Crow. You're not even in London a few weeks and you're already coaxing new blood to join the Black Ravens with the promise of rich rewards,” Roddy hummed.

“Don't even joke about that...” Badger muttered darkly.

While Roddy didn't understand the context of Badger's accusation, it did draw his attention back to the northerner. Part of Badger wanted to wither under Roddy's gaze, but it seemed that he was in a good mood. Despite his face being a little worse for the wear from Badger's assault, he was grinning widely.

“Looks like you were more than able to toughen up and look after him then, Badger,” Roddy praised.

“I doun't think punching someone who jumps on 'im counts as looking afteh 'im,” dismissed Badger.

“That's at least part of it. Seriously,” Roddy assured.

It was hard to tell if he truly was being serious or not. But it seemed that Crow wasn't impressed at this line of discussion and waved his arms to get their attention back on him.

“All right, so Badgah saved my useless arse from bein' beaten up by my best mate. Can we get back to ya bein' in London, Roddy?” he inquired.

“Yeah, what's Roddy doing here?” Scraps added, having been late to the party.

“I'll give you all some answers, but let's at least go inside first. And Crow, whatever that is in your bag that I bet you've nicked, put it back,” scolded Roddy.

“Oi, if someone's gonna leave a 'ole tool kit lyin' around then they're askin' to lose it,” argued Crow.

All the same, he did take it out of his bag. A very pained look crossed Roddy's face.

“That's my dad's...” he sighed, “I've told him before to be more careful with it. Honestly, he probably does deserve this, but he won't get very far without it.”

“Ya can 'ave it back then,” chimed Crow, as if he was doing Roddy the world's biggest favour. He passed the tool kit over, seeming to read something that was engraved on it as he did so; “...Michael Hardy. Is that ya dad's name?”

“Yeah, that's him. The lazy pain,” Roddy answered, “I'm not sure if I told you this story already, but after he left Misthallery to work on a job all those years back, he ended up getting involved in that big mess with the underground London. Not that he had any idea what it was at the time. But that's why Mum and me couldn't get in touch with him. Though it doesn't matter now we're finally back together again. It's just a shame that it took this long to sort out.”

As they walked back towards the shacks, Roddy stopped briefly to turn the power off from the crane that Scraps had hijacked before. It seemed that his forgetful dad had also been the one to leave the keys in the ignition, which caused Roddy to frown disapprovingly.

“We've met some people who got involved with that as well,” Crow told him, once Roddy had finished with the crane, “Some friends o' mine from a 'otel. They were all unknowin'ly trapped there for a while, just gettin' on with their lives. Even that cat was down there, so Becky tells me.”

“You're having me on!” laughed Roddy.

“Maybe Becky's playin' me for a fool then. Wouldn't be the first time,” Crow mused.

The group made their way into one of the shacks, where the light had been left on from earlier. The room that greeted them was what looked to be an all-purpose kitchen and living room, though another door led off into what Badger presumed to be the bedroom. The two dogs pushed past them and settled in a basket, allowing Badger to get a proper look at them in the light.

He'd been right about his assessment of Ringo, the small dog looked like a mix between far too many kinds of terrier. It settled into the bed proudly, as if being personally responsible for saving the day. By contrast, Sausage was a much more nervous ball of fur. It was almost comical to watch, given that Sausage was the biggest dog that Badger had ever seen. Not even Wren & Socket's beloved dog Phant came close. Although Badger had only been shown pictures of Newfoundland dogs before, he was willing to bet that was what Sausage was.

“Look at those two, they're the two most hopeless lads I've ever met. And I include you when I say that, Crow,” said Roddy. He watched the dogs affectionately for a moment, before pulling out a seat at the table and motioning for the others to do the same.

“Ya do seem to attract 'em, Rod,” confirmed Crow.

“Anyway, now it's your turn to do the talking,” Roddy pressed, once they'd all sat down, “We all figured that you'd be too busy getting on your feet to get in touch right away. But I'd hoped to have heard from you before I came to London.”

Being reminded of the others sparked Crow's attention. He ignored Roddy's request for him to explain themselves and instead focused on the Black Ravens back home.

“I'll let ya know about us in a minute, tell me 'ow everyone's doin' back 'ome first though,” he pleaded, “We 'ave bin sorta caught up in our own work lately, but in the back of my mind I've worried about the lot o' ya.”

Roddy gave a self-assured little smile.

“It wouldn't be my place to spoil the surprise,” he evaded, ominously, “But don't worry – only good things have happened and any challenges are what we could handle. I never would have been able to leave them if I didn't think they were able to manage.”

“I knew Marilyn would make a great leadah,” Crow praised. It seemed like a weight had been lifted from him.

“The leader's doing as well as she can,” hummed Roddy. And Badger definitely felt as if they weren't being told the full story about that. But before any more questions could be asked, Roddy went back to what he'd said before; “So anyway, now it's your turn to explain yourselves. I heard you call me Umid just before I knocked you to the ground. Who's that and why would you think he was the Black Raven?”

“Umid's our newest recruit 'ere in London. I'm sure we'll introduce ya before too long,” Crow explained.

Badger wasn't sure what sort of face he'd pulled in regards to Crow's answer, but it must have been something, because Roddy's eyes glanced in his direction. Then Roddy smirked knowingly and returned to looking at Crow. Suddenly Badger felt self-conscious. Just how obvious had he been about his feelings for Crow all this time?

“I'm surprised you'd let someone in so quickly. But then again it'd be difficult to set this up with just the three of you,” Roddy replied.

“We wouldn't even be 'ere without Umid,” confirmed Crow, “Especially since 'e's lettin' us stay in 'is 'ouse. We're gonna set up the auctions there, but the rooms are too small right now. That's why we came 'ere, since we wanted to sort the place out an' needed the tools to do it with.”

“You weren't... planning on driving that crane right out of here, were you?” Roddy asked. He seemed scared to know the answer.

“There was no plan,” Scraps assured him.

“We needed somethin', but we didn't know wot, no,” added Crow.

Roddy sighed; “I should toss you all out on your ears, really I should. Because I can already tell that this is going to be a massive pain in the neck. But you're lucky I'm a bleeding heart and that I was looking for you anyway. Take me over to this house tomorrow and I'll let you know what can be done with it. Then I'll twist Dad's arm to see if he can help.”

“Ya the best, Roddy!” cheered Crow.

“Keep it down, will you? My parents are asleep in the other room,” Roddy scolded.

“Yer mam's 'ere too?” Badger checked. He hadn't been expecting that.

“Yeah... well, we couldn't afford another place,” explained Roddy, “But we knew that we all wanted to be together, so we decided that we'd stay here at the work site as a family. Maybe it's weird, but we're all happy this way.”

“I'm glad for ya,” Crow said, “No one's waited as long or worked as 'ard for this as you 'ave, Rod. It's great that it's all finally comin' togethah.”

“Even more so now that I've found you lot,” added Roddy, “Though you are all more trouble than you're worth. If you'll have me, I'll be glad to join up to the London branch of the Black Ravens.”

“Roddy... ya didn't even 'afta ask about that. Ya already in.”

And that was something that both Badger and Scraps wholeheartedly agreed upon. The gang regaining one of its old members was the best possible outcome. With Roddy and hopefully his dad's help, suddenly the possibility of turning Sharpace Rest into a functioning auction house didn't seem so far away after all.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some convincing, Umid agrees to go ahead with the Black Ravens' plans for Sharpace Rest. But there's unease in the air and yet more secrets under their feet.

There was definitely an over-hanging feeling of tiredness about Sharpace Rest that morning. Which wasn't at all surprising, given that Crow, Badger and Scraps had spent much of the previous night running about a construction site being chased by dogs and Roddy. They had only themselves to blame. But despite that being the case, this was one of the few times that even Badger wasn't keen to get an early start.

“Could have done with a couple more hours...” Scraps yawned.

“This is Roddy's revenge,” grumbled Crow, “I bet 'e'll turn up 'ere all cheerful, knowin' that we're knackered. Roddy always 'as bin an early risah...”

Sure enough, it wasn't long after that when there was a knock on the door and Roddy made his way inside the house. He seemed at least a bit satisfied by how tired and grumpy they were, but that was drowned out by a feeling of general awe about the house.

“Are you sure it's not big enough here? This place is huge,” he whistled.

“It's big for an 'ouse, yeah,” agreed Crow, “But for an auction 'all it wouldn't even come close. The door wouldn't be wide enough to get more than a few people through at a time an' the basement we wanted to use is tiny.”

“When you put it that way, I see what you mean,” Roddy hummed, “Let me take a look at this basement and I'll see what I think might work.”

“Wot's the plan if ya can do somethin'?” asked Crow, as the four of them headed down the corridor.

“Dad's busy with work on the site,” Roddy answered, “Heck, even I should be. As much as you don't wanna hear this, neither of us will have loads of time to help you. But we'll do what we can. I told him about how you gave me work to help support me and Mum back in Misthallery, so he's happy to do what he can for you. There's even a chance he might be able to borrow some of the bigger tools if work will let him. We'll see about that.”

Badger wasn't certain what Roddy meant by 'bigger tools' but his mind instantly brought up images of the cranes that he'd seen last night. If they needed to bring one of those in here then there was no way for them to avoid getting a lot of notice from their neighbours. And they hadn't even talked to Umid about any of this yet...

“It'll go faster if you lot are willing to do some work as well, but I doubt there'll be a problem there,” Roddy went on.

Scraps nodded; “We've been sat around doing little of use for too long already. I've got so much back stock that I've even had to get buddy-buddy with some of the local antiques shops to get rid of the extra.”

“Really?” Crow gaped. It wasn't clear from his voice if he approved of this or not, but he was definitely surprised.

“Don't be like that,” Scraps scolded, “We needed to get money from somewhere while you've been decorating underground. Badger's even been talking to Becky about doing some cleaning shifts at the hotel.”

“Badge', is that true?” checked Crow.

“Y-yeah...” replied Badger, not feeling thankful to Scraps for dropping him in it, “It were nowt serious, just a little extra fer if this took much longeh t' set up.”

“It will do,” Roddy assured him, before Crow could say a word, “So you two having jobs on the side might be a good idea. Leave bird-boy to focus his whole self on this project, that's what he usually does, but if you guys being elsewhere puts food on the table then do it.”

“I guess that makes sense...” mumbled Crow. He seemed resigned and Badger felt that maybe he was a little betrayed, but at the same time what Roddy said made sense and there was no getting away from that.

However, before they could talk any more about alternate employment, Crow pulled the hatch of the trap door open to show Roddy the basement. The tour didn't take long, because there wasn't much to see. It was obvious to Roddy that they'd given this place their best effort, but it just wasn't enough.

After looking around for a while, he began to tap on one of the walls.

“Just as I thought,” he stated, “These aren't proper walls, not like you'd expect. They're temporary and seem to have been set up in recent years. If we knock them down then I bet the basement would be big enough to cover the entire underbelly of this house and then you'd have a big enough auction hall. Once we've done that it'll just be a matter of widening the trap door and the entrance. We might need to work into some of the rooms, but I reckon you expected that.”

“Sounds like ya know wot ya talkin' about,” Crow commented, impressed.

“I learn quickly,” Roddy dismissed.

“Is everything all right down there? I did not expect you to be working on the basement again this early.”

The four of them looked up to see Umid climbing down the ladders to join them. He seemed confused at the sight of Roddy, not that Badger could blame him. Amongst other things they hadn't told Umid, none of them had mentioned that there'd be company this morning.

“Perfect timin'!” chimed Crow, “Umid, I want ya to meet Roddy, one o' the original Black Ravens from back 'ome. Only 'e lives in London now, so 'e's gonna be 'elpin' us out. Roddy, this is Umid, our newest membah.”

“I'm sorry in advance for everything,” Roddy greeted Umid with.

Umid raised an eyebrow; “There has been nothing to apologise about so far.”

“No, but there will be,” promised Roddy, “Since I'm guessing that Crow hasn't told you what he plans to do with your house.”

“What does he mean?” Umid asked, looking at Crow with wide eyes.

“I was... thinkin' o' the right way to tell ya this...” mumbled Crow.

“Ask him. You were thinking of the right way to ask him, not tell him,” Roddy corrected.

“Yeah, um, wot Rod said. If ya ain't all right with this then we'll find somethin' else. Even if I dunno wot yet,” Crow said, “But we... well, remembah that practise auction we tried with Max, when we all decided this place ain't big enough to 'old auctions? I'd bin thinkin' about makin' it biggah. Roddy an' 'is dad are construction workahs, they could really 'elp us. 'eck, Roddy's just said that this basement is much biggah than we realised an' with a bit o' work we could knock in the walls an' get a lot more space to work with.”

There was a long silence. Admittedly, Badger had expected Umid to respond with his usual mild confusion at Crow's strange forwardness, but ultimately agree that this would be for the best. That wasn't what happened. Instead Umid narrowed his eyes and glared sharply at Crow.

“When were you intending to tell me this?” he demanded.

“A-as soon as ya got outta bed,” Crow replied.

“But not before you brought a stranger into my home to find out the details for a plan you did not have permission to go through with?” Umid retorted.

“Wait a minute, Roddy ain't a strangah,” protested Crow.

“No, Crow. To him I am,” Roddy corrected, “And he has every right to be annoyed about you doing this behind his back.”

“I'm glad to see that at least one of you is reasonable,” Umid said.

“I'm sorry, all right. I've bin a pig-'eaded brat like usual, blinded by my own ambitions,” Crow agreed, “But we need this so much. We can't make the auctions work without it an' ya already said ya want in on that.”

Before Crow could put his foot in his mouth any further, Roddy stepped in front of him. He held his arms out openly and addressed Umid.

“Look, you have every reason not to listen to any of us. If I'd known that Crow hadn't talked this through with you before coming here then even I would have felt uncomfortable,” he admitted, “But I'm not that surprised, because I know Crow. And I think you know Crow, too. So we both know that once he gets an idea into his head, nothing stops him from going through with it. He... does do tactless things and make mistakes along the way, but he gets results. If you can find it in yourself to forgive him and let us go through with it, then you'll benefit from all this as well.”

Umid took a deep breath, before turning away from them.

“I thought I knew Crow...” he whispered.

“If you need more time to think about it...” Roddy offered, letting that hang in the air.

“No. No, I don't,” answered Umid, “Because you are right. This would be best. Even if I'm not happy about how Crow has gone about it... I would just be being stubborn to refuse you. So you can do this.” He turned back to look at them again; “Just let me be part of the decisions in future.”

“Of course, Umid,” Crow confirmed. He looked relieved that this had ended up getting the answer he wanted.

That relief was short-lived.

“I was not talking to you,” Umid growled.

With that, Umid turned away for a second time and headed off up the the ladders. Even Crow had the sense not to follow him as he disappeared out of the trap door. Or maybe it was more that he didn't have the heart to. He certainly looked dejected when Badger glanced his way. And as much as Crow deserved it, Badger couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

The moment was broken by Scraps suddenly clapping his hands. Badger almost jumped out of his skin.

“Well, that's settled then,” Scraps breezily cheered, “Let's get on with the work.”

“This is all a big show to you, isn't it?” Roddy sighed.

“Give me something to do and I might stop being so heartless,” offered Scraps, “No promises though.”

“Think... think yer readeh, Crow?” Badger checked.

“...Hm? Oh. Yeah. Let's get started...” mumbled Crow, “Roddy, why don't ya... um, see wot ya need to do with these walls. The rest o' us can do wotevah ya need us too. Measure up the door frames or somethin' like that.”

“That would be an idea,” agreed Roddy. He rummaged around in his pocket, then pulled out a tape measure and threw it to Crow; “Get started on that.”

Without any argument, Crow took the tape measure and left to go find out the sizes of the front door. It was hard to say exactly what kind of measurements Roddy would need, but Badger suspected it was more about giving Crow something to do than because it actually needed doing right now.

“He liked that Umid guy, didn't he?” Roddy asked Badger, as soon as Crow was gone.

“Yeah... Yeah, 'e did,” Badger confirmed.

“Maybe you're in luck then,” Roddy suggested, with a shrug, “Because I think whatever was going on there is officially over.”

“I-I dunno... what... um, okay...”

It wasn't the best reply that Badger had ever given to anything, but he'd realised too late after opening his mouth that there was nothing he wanted to say. When it came to Crow, you couldn't get anything past Roddy.

Not that now was the right time to be arguing anyway. Or thinking about his feelings for Crow. Because they suddenly had so much to do...

***

The weeks turned into months and what had once been a drab winter eventually rolled into an optimistic spring. During that time, the work on Sharpace Rest had become something of a routine. Certainly for Badger, his life had finally settled into a comforting sense of knowing where he needed to be and what he needed to be doing each day.

In the morning he would get up, put breakfast on for the others and then get himself ready to go. By the time Roddy or his dad arrived, Scraps, Crow and Umid would be awake, so Badger could head off to do his shift at the Weathered Duke's Hotel. At first Badger had been a little nervous of Mr. Hardy, but it soon became apparent there was nothing to worry about – the man was clumsy and forgetful, nothing like Roddy at all, but it was plain to see that he cared a lot about his son and was good at his job. There always needed to be one of them at the construction site, so first thing in the morning it would be only one of the two Hardys, not both, but that was enough to see them through the work.

With everyone fed and off to work, Badger did the same. He fast became a reliable hand at the hotel and while he'd made it clear that he wouldn't be staying there forever, they welcomed him while he was. Each day he'd do whatever tasks he was given and once a week he'd be paid for his troubles. That money went straight into the bank account that Becky had helped him open.

Once he'd finished working there and maybe been to the bank if he'd needed to, Badger went back to help work on the house. At that point it was Scraps and Umid's turn to disappear, with Scraps going to make deals with the various antiques shops and Umid going to cover the afternoon shift at the hotel. Admittedly, Badger had no idea what it was that Scraps was up to, but he seemed to get the job done and came back with a decent amount of money, so no one complained.

The only one who wasn't balancing their project between another job was Crow. Just like Roddy had predicted, the leader threw himself entirely into working on Sharpace Rest. He was dedicated and relentless. If he wasn't planning how something should look, then he was working on making it look that way. Nothing would stop him from working. Though part of Badger wondered if that might have been to keep himself away from Umid. The two of them were back on civil terms, but it was clear that some ice still hung in the air from Umid towards Crow and that Crow felt down about that. For once in his life, Badger decided there wasn't anything he could do to help Crow's feelings and just let the two of them get on with it.

Sometimes in the evenings, if it had been Hardy who'd come to work on the house that day, then Roddy would join them after he'd finished at the construction site. His dad would insist that he was working too hard, but that was Roddy all over. Either way, it didn't stop Roddy from throwing himself into this work just as much as he probably was back at his actual job. And as an added bonus, he'd sometimes bring the two dogs along with him for a visit. The humans were always happy to see Ringo and Sausage, but the ever-trespassing Catanova was not.

It took them a long time to widen the hallway and the trap door. Just like they expected, many of the surrounding rooms had been affected by the work and were smaller now, but that was fine. At some point they'd decided to use those rooms for storage and other auction requirements. They could live entirely on the upper floor of the house and get that fitted out once they had a decent income from the auctions and were more able to to it.

Once the ground floor was done, they moved their work underground. One of the suggestions that Mr. Hardy had made was to replace the ladders with a wider staircase, so that guests could wander down more casually. That fitted with Crow's vision of grandeur, so he naturally agreed. But before they could do that, they needed to finally tear down those temporary walls.

None of them had quite known what to expect. Both Roddy and his dad assured them that the walls were recent enough to have been put there by the last occupant and that the work that had been done on them was hasty at best. It didn't take much persuasion to knock a hole into the first wall – a job they managed to do early one afternoon, when Badger had gotten back from the hotel. It was Roddy on shift today, not his dad, and even Umid and Scraps had given into curiosity to hang around and see what was on the other side.

It took Roddy a moment to clear away enough debris to shine a torch though. It was dusty and the atmosphere was stale, but it seemed that whatever was on the other side had caught his interest.

“Looks like someone wanted to hide something,” he commented.

“Let me see,” insisted Umid, uncharacteristically pushing through to have a look.

It took a few minutes for Badger to get a turn, but once the hole was big enough for him to have a look, he realised that this room was the same was what the basement had been like when they'd first found it – ransacked, with only traces of whatever had been going on beforehand left behind.

“This Sycamore guy, what sort of person was he?” Roddy asked, after they'd made a big enough space to get through.

He'd picked up a newspaper article that had been abandoned on the floor. There was a picture of a man, dressed in white and wearing a smiling mask on the cover. Badger couldn't read the article, but he remembered hearing about something weird going on in the elusive city of Monte d'Or that had involved a masked magician.

“He was... he is a good man,” assured Umid. With that, he took the newspaper from Roddy; “Do you mind if I clear this up? I'm not sure how he would feel about us going through his belongings. Assuming that these are his.”

“Go ahead,” mumbled Crow, who had learned better than to argue with Umid. Although Badger wondered if maybe he would have pushed to check the papers had it been anyone else. Certainly it seemed as if Scraps wasn't happy about this – he made it clear that he was watching Umid the whole time that their friend was cleaning up the mess.

Whatever the deal was with the extra baggage, it didn't seem to affect their progress too much after that. Umid took the remaining papers away, the rest of the walls were knocked out and then they had the bigger basement they wanted to work with. After that they added in the new staircase and even a stage. It wasn't the same as the one in Misthallery, but it was a promising kind of different.

So once all of the work they needed was eventually done, each of them was able to look over their improved house with a sense of pride.

“I propose that we 'ave a party,” Crow stated, “Money 'as bin a bit tight lately, but soon enough it won't be an' I wanna celebrate all that we've done. We'll wait 'til the 'otel an' the construction site 'ave closed for the night so that everyone can come. Roddy, bring both ya parents an' the dogs. Badge', go fetch Becky, Max, Mags an' Grafton from the 'otel. Scraps, go... find Catanova?”

“Sure, give me the hard one,” Scraps tutted. It was a good-natured tut though. They were all in high-spirits now.

That evening, every member of their little London crew got together to eat, drink and be merry about a job well done. Poor Margaret and Grafton didn't actually know what it was the Black Ravens had been up to all this time, but to them it just seemed like they had made some cosmetic changes to the house, which was fair enough. If there was a party on offer then there was no point getting too caught up on why it was happening.

“A toast!” Crow called, as everyone was lounging about the now much smaller living room, “To good friends, 'ard work an' a bright future 'ere in London!”

Many mismatched glasses chimed in the air and a bit of wayward drink sloshed onto the carpet. They could clean that up tomorrow.

“Anyone wanna say a few words?” checked Crow.

Surprisingly, it was Umid who got to his feet.

“If you don't mind I have some things I want to say,” he asked. After a quiet nod from Crow, Umid went on, “I was not sure about this at first. Any of this. When I first came to London from Mosinnia, even then I was not sure.” He paused here as Ringo started to bark softly. But given that Ringo was known to bark at nothing, no one paid him much mind and Umid carried on. “However, all of you welcomed me into your lives, got me caught up in your strange plans and gave me a sense of purpose. For this, I thank you.”

“What is that dog's problem?” muttered Scraps, as Ringo carried on.

“There are still things I do not know and sometimes... sometimes I think that I will need to learn those things on my own,” Umid continued. Badger wished he could pay more attention, but right now he was too busy looking at the dogs. Ringo yapped loudly and the massive Sausage was trying to hide his whole self behind Ringo's tiny body; “But all the same, I'm glad to have so many different people to ask for support whenever I need it. I am glad th-that... you are here...?”

It took Badger a moment to even realise that Umid had trailed off, but when he did he tore his gaze away from the two dogs and onto Umid, who was staring at the door, his expression fearful.

The room turned almost as one, to look in the direction that Umid was staring. And there, like a world-worn, aged traveller, stood the man from the portrait in the hallway.

It was Desmond Sycamore.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Black Ravens have found themselves with an unexpected guest, in the form of the house owner. So now they have to prove themselves to Desmond before they can even hope to continue with what they've set out to do.

Everyone in the room was silent, save for the continued barking from Ringo. Other than Umid, none of them had seen Desmond outside of the portrait in the hallway. Some of them hadn't even seen that, judging from the confusion on Grafton's face. It was as if a stranger had wandered into the house. When in actual fact the house belonged to the stranger.

The tension was broken by Margaret, who jolted herself awake with a loud snore, looked wildly around at everyone else and then joined them in staring at Professor Sycamore.

“...Whozzat then...?” she murmured, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“I am Desmond Sycamore, professor of archaeology and owner of this house,” he explained, in a low and threatening tone.

“Oh. That's nice. You didn't bring any more grub then, did you?” Margaret checked, hopefully. It seemed that Desmond's displeasure at the situation was lost on her.

“Granny, please...!” Becky hissed, placing a hand on Margaret's shoulder. Then she turned back to look at Desmond and said, “But I thought this was Umid's house now?”

Desmond's eyes flickered onto Umid and stayed there as he spoke; “I gave Umid this unused dwelling out of the goodness of my heart to help him get a foot in the door for his life in London. Never for a moment did I expect to find any of this upon my return.” He gestured towards the now much smaller living room and all of the people it contained.

From the look of fear on Umid's face, he wasn't yet ready to reply. Fortunately Crow, the master of excuses, was already a step ahead of him.

“Well, if ya wanted to 'elp Umid get a start in London then that's wot 'e's done,” Crow insisted, “This might not look like it, but Umid's openin' a business 'ere and this little get-togethah was to celebrate us bein' ready to start it up.”

When Crow spoke, Desmond regarded him thoughtfully. As if he was trying to remember where he'd seen him before. Not that he would have seen him anywhere, since no one like Desmond had ever been to Misthallery. About the best Badger could imagine was that maybe since this guy was an archaeologist, that he might know Professor Layton and the Black Ravens had come up in conversation. But Mr. Layton had promised not to talk about them...

“I can't deal with this right now,” Desmond sighed. He reached a hand up to rub his temple; “I'm going to retire to my room for the night. We can discuss this more in the morning. Umid, I assume that my bedroom has at least been left intact?”

“Y-yes,” answered Umid, having finally found his voice, “We haven't touched the upstairs save for the rooms that we've been staying in. But I left yours as it was.”

“Good. I'm glad to hear that,” Desmond replied, “Now if it's all the same with you, could you see out anyone who's not squatting here? I've had a long day's travelling and I could do with some quiet.”

“Ya can't just kick out all our friends!” argued Crow.

“It's all right, we'll go,” Becky cut in, “Wouldn't want to make things harder for Umid.”

Crow scowled, clearly not happy about any of this. But then he turned to look at Umid and saw how nervous he was. No matter how stubborn Crow might have been, there was no way he was going to put a friend at risk over this. Especially not when it was so easily avoidable.

“...Well, I 'ope all o' ya 'ad a good night for as long as it lasted,” Crow mumbled, admitting defeat, “Maybe we'll see ya again when we've got everythin' ready to go with... with our plans. Thanks for comin', everyone. Badge', could ya show 'em out?”

“R-reet away...” whispered Badger.

He got to his feet, not realising how shaky they were until he had to stand. Then he motioned for the others and walked nervously past Desmond, avoiding making eye-contact with him as best he could. Everyone followed him at different speeds, with Roddy's family coming first (Ringo continuing to bark at Desmond as Hardy held him back) and Becky's lot leaving at a slower pace, since they needed to help Margaret get up out of her chair. Only Catanova stayed, because no one told a cat what to do. He sat on Scraps's lap and regarded the professor with the same cautious curiosity as Scraps himself was.

It didn't take Badger long to get to the front door and let everyone out. The brisk evening air was refreshing and he almost wished that he could be going with them instead of staying here to deal with this unknown factor.

“Thanks for the good night out!” Margaret called, as she, Grafton and Max headed down the path. It was probably for the best that she didn't seem to see there was a problem, as it wouldn't do to worry her.

Becky lingered for a moment and said, “If you need anything, if anything goes wrong with that guy, just let me know.”

“We will, thanks,” replied Badger, not entirely sure that he would. The hotel staff had already done so much for the Black Ravens, so he didn't want to put them in any further trouble. But then again, if Crow was serious about bringing Max and Becky into the Black Ravens then maybe they would have to know about whatever was going on with Desmond. That wasn't Badger's place to decide though.

“Hurry up, Roderick, it's nippy out here,” chimed Roddy's mother, since Roddy had also stayed by the door.

“You and dad go on ahead,” Roddy called, “Might do the dogs good to get a bit of a walk, yeah? I'm just gonna talk to Badger and then I'll catch up.”

That seemed good enough for Roddy's parents. They joined the others in walking away, seeming to chat peacefully with Margaret and Grafton as they did. It took a few moments for all of them to disappear out of sight. Badger could tell that Roddy was waiting for them to go before he spoke again.

“What a pain...” Roddy grumbled, once he was sure they'd all gone, “I wanted to say that I'd stay the night, but I doubt that'd help.”

“Any ideas what that Sycamore felleh will do?” Badger asked. He didn't want to get too hopeful about the answer, but Roddy did have worldly wisdom in that grumpy head of his.

“Can't say for sure, but I could take a guess,” Roddy answered, “He'll want to talk to Umid tomorrow and Crow will want to be there. For once that's actually a good thing, because if there is something Crow's good at, it's bargaining. I'm not sure what sort of history Umid has with Sycamore, but it's clear that he won't stand up to him. He'll need Crow for that if he wants to talk Sycamore into letting us hold the auctions here. But at the same time, as always, you'll need to watch Crow to make sure he doesn't go too far.”

Badger nodded. He'd kind of been expecting Roddy to say that.

“I'll do what I can,” he promised.

“I know you will. And keep an eye on Scraps as well,” warned Roddy, “I can already tell that he doesn't trust Sycamore at all and you know what he can be like.”

“Yeah, I do,” assured Badger, “Though now that yer mention it, eveh since we got 'ere Scraps 'as been on edge about that. When Umid took those papers away from the basement 'e weren't too pleased.”

Roddy shrugged; “If Scraps is going to look into something then there's not much we can do to stop him. Let's just hope he tells anything he finds out to us before he goes running his mouth off to the professor. But anyway, I should let you get to whatever little sleep you might manage. Night, Badger. Shame it wasn't a good one.”

“Y-yeah, see yer soon, Roddeh...” Badger mumbled.

He weakly waved him off, before closing the door and going back to the living room. Now the only ones left there were Crow, Scraps and Catanova.

“That miserable man went to bed and Umid's gone to his own room as well,” Scraps informed, “We didn't get a chance to talk to him.”

“Umid wasn't up to talkin',” Crow insisted, “Besides, there'll be plenty o' time for that tomorrah. So we should get some rest as well, okay?”

“Sounds good t' me,” agreed Badger.

The three of them got to their feet, with Scraps picking up Catanova to put him out for the night. The large moggy was almost too much for Scraps to carry, but he'd done this enough times now to be use to it. Out of all of them, Scraps was the only one hardened enough to put him out, as the others would all feel sorry for Catanova too much and let him stay the night if it was down to them.

Once that was out of the way, the three of them headed upstairs to bed. There was no noise from either Umid's room or the one that they assumed Desmond had gone into, but that was probably for the best. As Crow said, there'd be much more talking tomorrow...

***

Badger was the first one up, with Umid not being far behind. The two of them sat together in the living room but didn't say a word. Badger wasn't good at talking to Umid at the best of times, let alone now. So he was relieved that it wasn't long before Crow and Scraps to joined them. After that it was just a case of waiting for Desmond.

It took the professor about half an hour more to come downstairs and while Badger hadn't been sure what to expect, he man who joined them certainly wasn't it. By contrast to his cold demeanour last night, this morning Desmond greeted them all with a pleasant smile. He looked so approachable now, nothing like he had been yesterday. It was confusing, to say the least.

“Looks like he's had time to compose himself...” Scraps muttered, under his breath.

“Good morning, all of you,” Desmond greeted, as he took a seat in one of the vacant chairs, “I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting, but I'm glad that you all understand there is much to discuss.”

“Last night was not what I would have wanted you to see, had I known you were arriving,” Umid started, “We have made a lot of changes to the house, yes, but-”

“Umid, you haven't yet introduced your friends,” reminded Desmond. He sounded nice enough when he said it, but Badger could still detect a hint of the ice from yesterday and he assumed that the others could as well.

“Y-yes, you are right,” Umid stammered, “These three are my friends and soon to be... business-partners, if you will let us carry on here. This is Badger, Scraps and Crow. They come from a town called Misthallery. Crow is the leader of them.”

“I figured he might be,” said Desmond, his eyes settling on Crow.

“What's that suppose to-”

But Crow shook his head before Scraps could finish his threat. It was enough to shut Scraps up. As infuriating as Desmond was shaping up to be, they now needed his approval to carry on with the work that they'd already put so much time and money into getting ready for. It would not do to offend him more than they already had. Crow would be best for talking with him, at least for the moment.

“Yeah, so with me bein' the leadah ya undahstand why I'll be the one with a lot to say to ya, right Mr. Sycamore?” checked Crow.

“I understand, yes,” Desmond confirmed, “And I can only assume that you've enlisted Umid into your... group. What with his willingness to let you do whatever it is you want to do here.”

“Umid is one o' us,” Crow answered, “But I wanna let ya know now that we ain't up to anythin' sinistah. I wouldn't drag Umid into somethin' like that.”

“Then tell me what it is that you do,” requested Sycamore, “Enlighten me.”

It was fortunate that Crow was used to dealing with even the most difficult customers from the auctions. So Desmond's demands didn't at all faze him. He kept as calm as the professor was himself when he gave his reply.

“It might be 'ard to believe, given 'ow young we all are, but back in Mist'allery we use to 'old auctions for antiques an' works o' art,” Crow told him, “In fact, we still do. There's a branch, I guess ya would call it, o' us still in Mist'allery doin' very well there. But there's only so much ya can do in one little town an' we wanted to expand. So some o' us came to London with the 'opes o' settin' up 'ere.”

“That's a bold plan. London is a very big place and I can tell you now that you're not the only people dealing in such matters here. You will have a wealth of competition from much more experienced sources,” Desmond retorted.

Suddenly it seemed more like they were pitching an idea for approval than explaining their intentions. But perhaps that was exactly what it was they were doing. Either way, Crow didn't back down.

“I like to think we're bringin' somethin' new to the table. Somethin' that London 'asn't seen before,” he continued, ignoring Desmond's snort to that, “An' even if we are takin' a massive risk, we're all determined an' willin' to go for it. Umid undahstands this, which is why 'e's joined us an' let us use the 'ouse that ya gave 'im.”

“Yes, a bit more explanation about that part in particular is required,” requested Desmond, “It would be hard for me to ignore the changes that you've made here, even without a proper look around. The entrance and hallways are much wider now, seemingly with a focus on getting towards the basement. I'd be willing to bet that you've made changes down there as well.”

“We 'ave,” Crow confirmed, “We needed somewhere to 'old the auctions an' the basement 'ad the kinda atmosphere we go for.”

“It shall be interesting to see the sort of work you've done then. In all honesty, I'd forgotten this house even had a basement to start with,” said Desmond.

“You did? Because we found a lot of stuff in it,” Scraps injected.

“What sort of... 'stuff'?” hummed Desmond.

“Nothing of much interest,” Umid replied, before Scraps could, “Just newspaper articles and some notes of paper. I'd moved them to a cupboard in case they were of any importance to you.”

“I doubt that they would be, but I thank you and will take a look all the same,” Desmond curtly answered.

“Some of them were pretty recent,” Scraps informed, “I saw one newspaper that had the Masked Gentleman of Monte d'Or on the cover. That whole thing only happened some six or seven years ago.”

“For someone so young, you have a quite an elderly idea of what would be considered recent,” chuckled Desmond, “To many, that amount of time would seem like almost an age. But I see the point that you're getting at. Of course I'd want to take a look at these papers and see if someone had been using the basement without my consent. Save for yourselves, that is.”

“An' we'd be thankful if ya could let us keep on usin' it,” Crow said, getting the conversation back on track, “I know that we're bein' cheeky to ask, but the impression we got from Umid was that ya were givin' 'im this 'ouse to keep, no strings attached. So we mistakenly believed it was 'is to do with as 'e pleased.”

“Then perhaps I should have been clearer about my terms with him. For that, I accept a partial amount of the blame here,” Desmond dismissed, “My intentions had been to help him and I hadn't foreseen myself returning to Sharpace Rest for a good while. But plans change and I myself ended up needing a rest. I had wanted to at least check up on Umid and then decide what to do from there, but this situation has left me with a great deal to be worried about.”

“There's nothin' to worry about at all,” reasoned Crow, “We wanna start up an auction business an' we've made changes to the 'ouse to make room for that. Which is about all there is to it.”

“Perhaps. But that doesn't stop me from being wary. I know Umid and I know how trusting he is. Forgive me for not welcoming you with open arms, but I don't know any of you and it is my primary concern that your ideals may hurt Umid. For that reason, I'd at least like to see more of your activities here before I pass my judgement,” Desmond stated.

“Right, we've playin' by your rules,” agreed Crow, “I wanna prove to ya that we're good an' we only mean the best for Umid. So wotevah terms ya wanna set, we'll do our best to follow 'em.”

“That's very reasonable of you,” praised Desmond. It felt hollow though, since he knew as well as they did that if they didn't get his approval they'd be out on their ears with a lot of money having gone down the drain; “My only requirement right now is to observe. I will be here and I will let you get on with this for as long as it takes for me to make a decision upon it.”

“So you could chuck us out at a moment's notice?” Scraps growled.

“Scraps...!” Badger whined, tugging at his sleeve.

But Desmond was not put out. To the contrary, he turned his attention to Scraps and smiled a very cheerful smile. One that someone would use when addressing a small child who couldn't understand the conversation at hand.

“Yes, I could indeed,” he said, “So you'd do best not to give me a reason to.”

“We won't,” Crow vowed, “An' we thank ya for even givin' us this much o' a chance.”

“You are most welcome, young man,” replied Desmond, “Now, I'm sure that all of you have a lot to get on with. And so do I. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave.”

With that, he got to his feet and saw himself out. He didn't even wait for them to say goodbye, but given that it was taking all of Scraps's composure not to jump out of his chair and bite Desmond's legs, that was probably for the best. They all held their breath as Desmond left the room, not knowing where he was going to go. But he headed towards the front door, so whatever plans he had must have been elsewhere in London. When the front door was closed behind him, they all breathed out again in relief.

“That were intense...” Badger sighed, “I 'ad no idea 'ow it were gan t' go...”

“Me neithah,” Crow confessed, “But I reckon it worked out the best it could for us. Umid, I'm sorry that I did most o' the talkin' for ya.”

“No, it's fine. I doubt I would have known what to say,” admitted Umid.

“This is terrible though. That guy could throw us out whenever he likes!” Scraps reminded. He'd folded his arms and was stewing angrily where he sat.

“Professor Sycamore is a good man, he would not do that,” Umid argued.

“I didn't see a good man this morning,” snorted Scraps.

“Then perhaps you need to look harder,” stated Umid, stubbornly.

“No, I think you're the one that needs to look harder. Because right now it doesn't seem like you're seeing what's there at all,” Scraps countered.

“All right, let's not fight amongst ourselves,” Crow cut in, “We're not gonna prove anythin' to anyone by fallin' apart. So I want us all to get to work preparin' for the auctions an' not worry about Professah Sycamore more than we 'afta.”

“Yeah, I'm with Crowlo on that,” agreed Badger, getting to his feet.

“There's a surprise,” shot Scraps, “But whatever. I'm going to get the stock sorted now that we might actually have a need for it.”

With that he got up and pushed by the rest of them. No one stopped him from leaving. An irate Scraps was not someone to be messed with.

“I think 'e'll calm down latah,” reasoned Crow, “Sorry if 'e upset ya, Umid.”

“No, I'm not upset. But he is wrong about Professor Sycamore and you will all see that in time,” Umid insisted.

“I do 'ope so,” answered Crow. There was no mistaking the doubt in his voice.

With that, there wasn't much else to say. At least not right now. Badger still had so many questions about the situation buzzing through his head and he figured that the others probably did as well, but now wasn't the time where they'd find answers to them. All further talking would do was cement the uncertainty that they each had for their situation and there was no need for that. Working would at least distract them from having to focus on the wrench that Desmond had thrown into the works.

So the three of them headed out of the living room and went to do what they needed to prepare for their first auction in London. If nothing else, at least they wouldn't have to wait much longer for that.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although the Black Ravens are finally ready for their first auction in London, it fast becomes apparent that this auction doesn't truly belong to them. And one of their members struggles to deal with this realisation.

The Black Ravens had spent at least a few days preparing for the first London auction before Crow called Badger and Scraps to a side to talk to them about it properly. That happened one mild afternoon, when Badger had gotten back from his shift at the Weathered Duke's. Umid had already left to take over from him at the hotel, so for now it was just the three of them. They sat in the small living room, which was looking defiantly full of fancy furniture since Desmond had returned – the professor had been making a point, they were all sure.

“Right, so I doubt I need to say that we're well on the way to bein' ready for the auction,” Crow began, “We've got a lotta good stock an' we've 'ad a few re'ersals as well. Now all we need are some customahs to take these wares off our 'ands.”

Scraps nodded; “I've been thinking about that. At home we'd been doing this for so long that everyone knew who we were. Even at our lowest moments, we could probably draw a small crowd there. Whereas right now we're starting fresh, with no old faces to depend on. I've had a few ideas though. While we've been here I've gotten pretty buddy-buddy with a few of the antiques dealers. They'd probably put the word out if I asked them.”

“That's great!” cheered Crow, looking glad that Scraps already had something prepared.

“...But would you perhaps be willing to accept a better suggestion?”

The three of them turned towards the door, where Desmond was watching them keenly. He had a habit of appearing when you least expected him, probably to serve as a reminder that nothing they did in this house could get past him. Badger felt the annoyance radiating from the other two, but fortunately Crow was well aware that he had to be careful when dealing with Desmond.

“Sure, go on,” Crow prompted.

“Umid and I already talked about this to some extent,” Desmond informed, as he walked into the living room, “Forgive me for not including you in those discussions, but I also notice that you haven't included him in this one.” Here he paused for if Crow wanted to jump in to defend this choice, but when nothing came he carried on; “I feel that I have some understanding of the type of crowd you're going for and it certainly would be playing it safe to appeal to customers already in the market for antiques, as your friend suggested. But did you not say to me the morning after I arrived that you wanted to take risks and try something that London has never seen before?”

“I did say that,” confirmed Crow. He wasn't accustomed to having his own words used against him, since he was usually the one doing that to other people, so Badger could tell that he was cautious right now.

“Then you'd be wise to listen to me,” Desmond assured him, “I am well known in circles where you would have no sway, amongst people who would probably never come to know of your existence otherwise. They are the audience you could never have. But I could bring them to you.”

“Why would we care about your nobby friends?” growled Scraps, before either of the other two could stop him.

“Your dogged hatred of the upper-classes is... admirable in it's way, but even you can't be as naïve as all that,” Desmond chuckled, “They're the ones with the money. And surely that's why you do all this. To take back from the rich some of what you think society owes you. I can't imagine someone like yourself being involved in all of this for any other reason.”

“Scraps is 'ere 'cause 'e's our friend,” corrected Crow.

“But I'm not wrong, am I?” Desmond hummed, looking at Scraps.

“Tell us about your friends then,” Scraps grumbled.

“Very well, I'm glad you see it my way. Though I wouldn't go as far as to call them that. You're not the only one who finds such people insufferable. However, putting on a face is important when dealing with useful people who you might not like. I doubt I need to tell the three of you that,” replied Desmond. As was his way, he let that statement hang pointedly in the air before he carried on, “And such is the nature of the idle, the higher breed of people find themselves becoming bored all too often. They'll give any novelty a go once. Your job is to give them a reason to keep coming.”

“So ya tell ya rich mates about us an' we give 'em a good time, is that wot ya sayin'?” Crow asked.

“That is exactly what I'm saying. Though, if I might make a bold suggestion, I feel that the evening would go smoother if they thought that I was at the reins. It'll still be your affair, of course,” Desmond added, before Crow could object, “But your name means nothing to them, whereas they will come here for me. After that you can give them a reason to come here for the Black Raven.”

There was a cold moment where Badger couldn't stop himself from trying to remember if they'd ever expressly mentioned the Black Raven to Desmond under that name. But even if they hadn't, there was a good chance he might have heard them talk about themselves as such around the house. Nothing escaped Desmond's notice. So Badger let that worry slide as the discussion continued.

“I'll be honest, I don't like the idea o' someone else controllin' the crowd,” Crow admitted, “Maybe I'm vain, but I've always pulled the strings with our auctions.” He neglected to mention that week where he surrendered the group to Marilyn, but even now Badger wasn't entirely sure exactly how much Crow had truly stayed out of that; “...Though at the same time, I know wot's best an' I can say for sure that ya know that sorta person bettah than I do. So fine, we'll dress this up as one o' ya dinnah parties an' once they're in the basement I'll win 'em ovah with the Black Raven's charms.”

“That sounds like the best way to do this. I'm glad to see that you were agreeable, since Umid wasn't sure how you'd take such a suggestion,” Desmond praised.

“I don't like it...” Scraps quietly muttered, but none of them paid him any mind right now.

“So when do ya wanna 'old this thing?” checked Crow.

“Give me a week,” Desmond requested, “The rich don't like to be rushed. But I can assure you that for something as rare as me hosting an event, they will come.”

“An' we'll be ready for 'em,” Crow grimly concluded.

***

The week flew by faster than Badger expected. Which was for the best, given how long it had already taken them to get ready for the auction since they'd arrived in London. There was only so far they could get on the wages that Badger and Umid were making at the hotel (ignoring the decidedly unspecified amount that Badger had been putting into the bank), and Scraps had stopped pawning items to the antique sellers now that he knew they would soon have use for them. So this auction was exactly what they needed to make profit. Or at least, Badger hoped that they'd make profit. After all that they'd built London up to be they kind of needed to.

He tried not to worry too much about that, knowing that Crow wouldn't want him to, and instead focused on what they needed to do.

Nothing could prepare him for the night itself though, which was like nothing he'd ever seen before. Even the auction they'd held at Barde Manor couldn't compare. Because as much as that place had been on the same level of fancy, that auction had essentially been about cattle-prodding a large group of people to where they needed them to be. By contrast, tonight no one was being prodded at all. There weren't nearly as many people as Badger had expected, but the aura they gave off made each one feel wealthy and important. Even with such a small selection, tonight might be the auction they'd make the most money from so far.

However, Badger didn't see much of the people at all, since he'd been instructed to stay behind the scenes until the auction was ready. That had been another one of Desmond's ideas that Crow had reluctantly agreed to. For the look of the thing, only Umid and Becky were walking around with the guests, serving them drinks and snacks, while the rest of them stayed out of sight. Which for tonight meant Crow, Badger, Scraps, Roddy and also Max, who insisted on coming as soon as he knew Becky was involved. They all waited in one of the small storage rooms and occasionally peeked out.

“This ain't our auction at all. It's Sycamore's,” Crow sighed.

“Just be glad he pulled this lot in,” dismissed Roddy, “It's only for one night and then after that we'll be the ones in charge again.”

“But will we, Rod?” Crow whined, “I get the impression that no mattah wot we do, Sycamore's gonna 'ave a say in it. Always promisin' that next time it'll be all us...”

“You don't know that yet. And even if he does, I hate to say it Crow, but... would that be all bad?” Roddy asked. There was an earnest look in his face that Badger didn't think he'd seen there all too often before.

Crow stared at him in wide-eyed indignity, but before he could respond Becky poked her head around the door.

“Professor Sycamore wants you all down in the basement now, he's going to lead them in soon,” she hissed.

“Guess we've doin' wot 'e says,” snapped Crow.

He threw his arms in the air as a show of defeat, then lead the others out of the room. They were quiet about it, not wanting to be noticed as they made their way down, but thankfully it seemed as if Becky had done a good job making sure that everyone stayed where they needed to be. As they went by the living room door, Badger risked a look in and saw Desmond there, talking pleasantly with some of the guests. Umid was with him and Desmond had his hand on his back, like a father introducing his son to his friends. But that wasn't something for Badger to judge (or even something he had any experience with, given that his own father was a world away from that sort of situation), so instead he hurried on after the others.

Once they were in the basement, they all put on their Black Raven robes. Even Max had been provided with one, so that he wouldn't look out of place. Then they took to their positions around the room as they'd practised many times leading up to that moment.

It was then that Badger looked at Crow and noticed that the leader was stood frozen, not wearing his mask, and staring up at the large stairway, where soon enough their guests would be descending down after them. Badger looked around at Scraps and Roddy, but it was impossible to see what they were making of this now that they were dressed fully in the Black Raven attire. So Badger decided it was up to him to talk to Crow.

“Yer ah'reet, Crowlo?” he called over.

“Mm...?” mumbled Crow, as if being broken out of a trance, “I'm... no, I'm not all right...”

“Then now's a bad time to not be, because we don't have too much longer before the toffs join us,” Scraps reminded.

“...I can't do this,” Crow whispered, so softly that if they hadn't all been listening out for it then they would have missed it, “This ain't my auction. This is not... wot I wanted...”

“Can we deal with it tomorrow? It's too much of a bother to sort anything out now,” Roddy reasoned, “We're already knee-deep in this, so just put on your Black Raven act, pretend that everything's fine and it probably will be.”

“Nah, that's not okay,” Badger heard himself say, “If Crow can't do it then there's gotteh be anotheh way.”

“Then what's your suggestion? Keeping in mind that we have literally minutes to find an alternate!” demanded Scraps.

Badger looked at Crow, who was still looking up at the staircase, then he followed his gaze just in time to see Becky heading down towards them. Even her long and spindly limbs looked tiny on the grand walkway they'd turned the staircase into and she definitely seemed surprised to find Crow not fully dressed up yet. But seeing her was enough to spark an idea in Badger's head.

“We let Max do it,” he stated.

“What!” Scraps and Roddy called in unison.

“Y-yeah,” Badger explained, “We all saw on the day when we 'ad that practise run – 'e were realleh good at putting on an act up until it all went a bit... wrong. But this time we 'ave Beckeh to keep an eye on 'im, reet?”

“I don't know...” mumbled Becky.

“Please, Becky! I can do it!” Max begged, surprising them all with how sudden he was with his words, “I've been practising my whole life to perform to people. I'm a game show host and the whole world is my contestant.”

That was the most transparent thing that Badger believed he'd ever heard Max say. There was no dressing up what he meant in funny words this time, just Max saying exactly what he wanted. And none of them could disagree that he'd be good for the role as long as he kept it together.

“If you want to then... then I suppose it's up to Crow,” decided Becky.

Everyone looked towards Crow, who simply nodded in a resigned fashion. In that moment he looked as small as he truly was.

“I can't do it,” he said, “An' maybe this ain't ideal, but I do think that Max can. I'm... sorry for lettin' all o' ya down, but somethin' about tonight just ain't right for me...”

“Then the presenter should sit this round out and let a new host take the stage,” chimed Max, beginning to click into his game show mode.

“Yeah, I'm out,” concluded Crow.

With that, he pushed past all of them and made his way back up the stairs. Badger went to rush after him, but Roddy firmly put a hand on his shoulder to keep him where he was.

“Let him, he needs time,” Roddy said, “He knows that we've got a way to get through this now and we're gonna be okay. He wouldn't have left if he didn't know that. But sometimes you've gotta let Crow have these moments on his own.”

“What a drama queen,” huffed Scraps, “At least we already know that we can do auctions without him.”

“Y-yeah...” Badger mumbled.

He didn't feel good about this at all. It wasn't long after Crow left before Desmond and Umid led the guests down into the basement. So he had little choice but to stay at his post and let the evening unfold. As distracted as he might have been, Badger did feel a small sense of pride at how impressed they all were by the basement. There'd been a lot of hard work gone into making it look like it did and if high class individuals like these approved of it then it could impress anyone. Even Desmond seemed glad to introduce them all to the improvements that had been made to Sharpace Rest, which was quite the contrast to how he'd felt about it when he'd first gotten here. Though the brief look of surprise that passed across his face did suggest that he'd mentally done a head count and realised they were one Black Raven short. He was good enough of an actor to disguise this again in the next moment though and none of the guests seemed to notice.

Once they were all seated, it was Desmond who took the stage. Badger was now glad that Crow wasn't around to see this.

“Thank you all for coming,” he addressed the crowd, his voice was comfortingly warm, “I have not long been back in London after a lengthy absence, but upon arriving I couldn't stop myself from wondering what I could do for my esteemed friends and colleagues, who have been kind enough to support me in all of my research, wherever it may take me. So I thought to myself, what have these good people never done before? Dinner parties are nice enough, but I wanted to provide you with... an experience.” He stopped there, long enough for Badger and Roddy's masked faces to exchange a glance across the room. Even without being able to see each other's expressions, they were clearly both thinking the same thing – this was Desmond's night, not theirs. And as if to confront their worries, Desmond carried on; “Now over the course of the evening I've introduced many of you to Umid here, an ambitious young boy, who I was lucky enough to meet during my travels. He too, is someone who has many great ideas. And I'm nothing if not someone who wants to incubate greatness when I find it, as you all have done for me in the past. So when he came to me with his bold idea for London, I knew right away that it was just what was needed to make tonight something rather special. I do hope that you will enjoy these auctions, as I can promise you that a lot of work has gone into them to make them perfect for you. Now, I'll take my leave of this stage and allow Umid's troupe to perform their show.”

“He's making us sound like circus animals...” Scraps hissed, from next to Badger.

“No, 'e's making us sound like Umid's circus animals,” Badger corrected, as they watched Desmond take a seat next to Umid in the front row.

To Umid's credit, he at least looked as surprised by this speech as they were. It would have been... convenient for Badger if Umid had planned this all along, because then he'd have a genuine reason to not like him, outside of his own jealousy at the situation between Umid and Crow. But Badger was reasonable to a fault and he knew that Desmond was the only guilty party here. Even so, no matter who was to blame, the seeds had been sown and now this small collection of London's upper-crust thought that the Black Ravens were under Umid's control.

As Max took to the stage, Badger glumly accepted that there wasn't even any Crow around to mediate the damage. They all just had to hope that Max would do a good enough job.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome...” Max began, each word growing quieter than the last. He moved the Black Raven's arms and head in an erratic motion, which cast a suitably unsettling feel across the room. Everyone leaned in close, even Badger did, before he could stop himself; “...I've travelled far to be here tonight, so very, very far... And on my travels I have come across the finest wares, that I have taken into my collection. There are riches in the forms of art that is rarely seen on the British Isles any more. Such a shame, such a sad, sad shame...”

“I hate to say it, but he's pretty good,” mumbled Scraps, before he left Badger's side to go get the first item ready for auction.

“But the biggest shame is that I have no interest in these things,” Max went on, jerking the Black Raven's arm up across his chest, “I collect them so that they may find the right people to keep them, but my only interest is in what glitters and shines. Gold, gold, gold... Can anyone provide me with gold?” He motioned the arms wide across the room now, “For the right price I may be willing to part with my collection, so that they may find better homes. So please, convince me that you are worthy of such art by presenting me with your shiny coins.”

This could go either way, Badger knew. Either the audience would completely lap it up or they would reject the notion as being too weird. But it turned out that Desmond had been right about these people, as from the moment the first item was brought forward it was clear that they were under Max's spell. And they bid. They bid like nothing Badger had ever seen before, even from the richer auctions in Misthallery. His head was almost buzzing from how much money they spent on useless knick-knacks. Even the ones that were genuinely valuable weren't worth the price they paid. Though Badger supposed Crow would argue that true value comes from whatever the highest bidder believes it to be.

By the time the auction was over they'd made so much money that even Badger's skill at maths would take a while to figure it out. But the worst part was that it didn't even seem like that big of a deal to these people. Once the spell of the auction was broken, they went back to casually talking to Desmond about what a wonderful party it had been, how it would be a challenge to top it and only lightly enquiring about how to make payment and collect their goods (Desmond assured them that the Black Raven would accept cheques and notes just as fondly as he did shiny coins). It wasn't like back home, where the thrill of the auction lasted until long after the punters had wandered back onto the streets. To these people, this was merely another event in the evening's entertainment.

With this thought in mind, it truly dawned on Badger how far away from Misthallery they were...

Eventually, Desmond led his guests out of the basement, along with Umid, who gave them all a sheepishly apologetic look before following him. Badger had expected Becky to go too, since she was one of the hosts, but instead she stayed for the moment and pulled the mask off Max when the coast was clear.

“That was amazing!” she praised, drawing Max into a tight hug, “I've never seen anything like it!”

“Yeah, you were good, kid. And I don't compliment people often,” agreed Scraps.

“Th-thanks...” murmured Max, flushed pink with embarrassment, “Your host will be here all week if you want autographs.”

“Maybe longer than that, if Crow doesn't pick up his act,” Roddy sighed.

In fact, they didn't see Crow again until much later on in the evening, once the guests had started dwindling away. Badger noted that it took posh people a long time to say goodbye to each other and even after many farewells were uttered, they'd suddenly remember to ask Desmond some other meaningless question that would take twenty minutes to talk the answer through. Honestly, if it was always this way then part of Badger could understand why Desmond had taken off to bury himself in research for so long. Anything would be better than dealing with so much chatter.

There were a few times when Umid would try to head towards the group to say sorry for the misunderstanding, but he was always soon called away again by Desmond. On the last time that happened Roddy gave him a pat on the back, told him it would be all right and that they'd deal with it another time. That seemed to be enough reassurance for Umid, who then stopped trying to make a break for them every few minutes.

It was probably a good thing he wasn't there when Crow rejoined them, as none of them knew how Crow would take any of the news.

“Wot 'appened then?” Crow checked, as he slunk down from upstairs, some of his swagger seeming to have returned to him, “Did it go well?”

“It were terrible, Crowlo,” Badger burst out, “Nowt like the auction back 'ome. It were-”

“...Brilliant,” Roddy corrected, “Absolutely brilliant. Nothing like Misthallery, no, but something we could never see there. Max did a fantastic job and the money we made... even once we split it up between the lot of us I bet that I could use it to pay a month's rent on a decent place for my family to stay. This was a good auction.”

“Moneh isn't everything...” mumbled Badger, feeling that he needed to defend Crow's honour.

“No, but we came to London for something new and we got it,” Scraps added, “Even if moody boss-man over here doesn't like it, I plan to go on doing auctions like that. I hate to compliment a snob, but that Sycamore had the right idea about this one.”

“I see...” growled Crow.

“It weren't all that, Crow! We can talk about this...!” whimpered Badger.

“No, they're right. We did come 'ere to do somethin' biggah. I just... didn't think that it'd be like this...” Crow confessed, “Well, I'm gonna 'ead off to get started on the inventory. We'll 'ave a lotta work to do if we wanna keep this up an' I need to step up my game unless I want Max to replace me permanently.”

Awkwardly, neither Roddy nor Scraps argued that point. Badger could feel angry tears starting to form in his eyes. Surely they couldn't think that Max could ever outdo Crow on the stage? It had been beginner's luck!

So with that, Crow headed into the room they'd kept the stock in, presumably to check their levels and see how much they'd need for next time. Soon enough he'd want to know the sales figures and Badger wasn't looking forward to telling him how good they were. Even if a selfish part of Badger's mind had been thinking about just how much money he'd be taking to the bank the next day. The rainy day he was saving up for suddenly might not be such bad weather after all...

“Yer couldeh lied a little bit,” Badger scolded the two of them, once Crow was away in the other room.

“Why? He needs to know the truth,” Roddy said, with a shrug.

“This is what he wanted,” Scraps agreed, “It just so happens that the medicine tastes more bitter than he realised. But that's London for you – if he can't handle it then he knows where the train home is.”

“But that's admitting defeat and Crow can't do that... We're 'is friend, we need t' be there fer 'im,” argued Badger.

“And we will be. Our way is just different to yours,” Roddy debated.

A moment of spite washed over Badger; “I suppose showing compassion fer Crow would be too much of a pain fer yer, would it, Roddeh? Not worth the bother?”

If Roddy was riled by that he didn't let on.

“You show him your compassion and I'll show him mine. All right, Badger?” he stated coolly.

To that, Badger had no comeback. He didn't deal well with confrontation at the best of times and any sort of bravery he might have in an argument came in short waves before retreating back to the shyness that was Badger. And every part of him was telling him to retreat right now. So that was exactly what he did. He shoved past the two of them and went into the room with Crow to metaphorically lick their leader's wounds.

And he hoped so very badly that for this one time he was right and the others were wrong.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badger comes to terms with being wrong and receives some useful advice from Roddy about where to go from here. But before he can put this into action, it seems that more trouble is being stirred on the Scraps front and something that's been kept hidden won't be for much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, if any of the characters ever drops the L-Bomb about Crow & Badger in this fic then it should probably be handled delicately and not just shoved in a random chapter. At least, you'd think so, wouldn't you?

Badger lay on his bed, stared at the ceiling and thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have work that morning. Though if he was entirely honest with himself, he wasn't sure that any stars he might have could be lucky ones. Or if he even had any stars at all. It certainly didn't feel like it, given how badly everything was going. Even if it was more through Crow's perspective than his that it was bad. But if Crow was hurting because of something then Badger was hurting as well...

He sighed deeply and continued his scrutiny of the ceiling. It bothered him how clean and nice it looked. Back at home, or even in Crow's house, there were always cracks in the ceiling and other little bits of character that made the room what it was. This room had no character. It gave the impression that it did, with all the nice furniture carefully arranged within it, but that was just there to hide away how bland the room truly was. It had no imperfections and that bothered Badger.

Maybe that was why him and Crow hadn't taken to last night's auction – there were no cracks. It was all too smooth. Too perfect. Though there was also a stronger chance that both of them were being stubborn. Especially considering that neither Roddy nor Scraps had felt the same way about it.

Crow's face had been distant when Badger had gone through to join him in the store room last night. For all the world could see, Crow was doing necessary checks on the stock and just getting on with work as he should do, but Badger knew better. Badger could see that he was hurting.

And sure enough, it hadn't taken long before Crow had started asking Badger to go into more detail about the auction. At first Badger had tried to play it down, but there was no point in hiding anything when the others had already stated so bluntly that it had been a great auction. By the time Crow started asking about Desmond, there was nothing Badger could do but give his most accurate account about how Desmond had made it seem like the whole thing was his idea and that Umid was running the Black Ravens.

That hadn't gone down very well.

But Crow had at least seemed to believe him that none of it was Umid's fault. At the end of the day, Crow knew Umid better than Badger did and he agreed that something of that nature wouldn't be like him. However, Crow also added that Umid was the most loyal to Desmond out of all of them, so it would benefit Desmond if people were to believe that Umid was their leader.

As Badger lay in his bed, he wondered if they weren't putting too much thought into it. After all, why should someone like Desmond even care about what they were doing? He was a professor who was presumably very rich and obviously had friends in high places. It shouldn't matter to him about a bunch of young adults trying to carve a place for themselves in the world. Was it just that he wanted to know he was in control?

Then Badger thought back to that brief moment when he'd seen Umid standing with Desmond in that room full of people. Along with the fact that the two of them had stayed together almost all of yesterday evening. Part of Badger started to wonder if Desmond regarded Umid like a son and that maybe all of this was about getting what was best for him.

If that was the case, then Badger wanted out. His intentions when coming to London had been to start a business with Crow. He had no desire to be dragged into whatever Desmond wanted to warp the Black Ravens into for Umid's sake.

With that angry notion playing on his mind, Badger rolled onto his side. How stupid of Roddy and Scraps to fall for something so obvious. As time goes on and it becomes more apparent this was the case, the two of them were going to feel very silly.

...But time did go on and they did not feel that way at all.

There were more auctions. Outside of Crow and Badger, the others were hungry for more after the first. They'd all but dragged Desmond into the living room to talk about it. And Desmond had told them to be patient – that if they took the time to find the better stock, hone their craft to perfection and give their audience the impression that the people needed the auction more than the auction needed the people, they could keep having constant successes.

And he was right. Time after time, they'd hold the auctions for wealthy crowds that were gradually increasing in number and each time it went well. Even without Crow at the helm. With Max hosting every single auction instead and becoming a new kind of Black Raven. The kind these rich people wanted.

Badger wanted to begrudge all of them, but one day on his way back from the bank he realised that he couldn't. Because on that day he met Becky, passing him on her way to the very same building he'd just come from.

“Putting away your earnings, Badger?” she asked, cheerfully.

“Y-yeah, summit like that...” Badger confessed.

“That's great, you deserve it,” chimed Becky, “Heck, we all do. I admit that I wasn't so sure about this auction thing at first, but it's worked out so well. Max has never been as happy as he is right now and between the two of us we're making enough to finally afford all that repair work on the hotel. There's been talk of getting an extension and Granny might even take a couple of weeks off! That's all thanks to you Black Ravens. I never should have doubted you.”

Hearing all that made Badger realise just how unfair he was being. None of the others were awful at all, they were just trying to make the most of what they'd worked hard to achieve. He shouldn't be annoyed at them for that. Especially if it meant that good people like Becky and her family were able to afford some luxuries that they'd never dared dream of before.

He kept that in mind on his way back, though he didn't make it all the way to the house before stopping again. This time he was in front of the construction site, which had also been making steady progress over the months since they'd first seen it. Roddy would be there today and with the thought of how unreasonable he'd been to get angry at Roddy fresh in his mind, Badger headed through to find him.

There was a good chance that he shouldn't have been there, but nobody stopped him. Possibly because he looked as if he belonged there just enough to get by. So Badger looked around for a while and eventually found Roddy busy mixing some cement. The two dogs were chasing each other around near him and barking playfully. It seemed that they didn't understand why Roddy wouldn't just drop the work and come spend time with them. But Badger knew that, however much he might complain about it, Roddy wouldn't really drop his work. It wasn't in his nature.

“Roddeh, 'ey!” Badger called.

When Roddy looked over he raised an eyebrow at Badger, but then stopped what he was doing and motioned for him to come over. Badger suddenly felt nervous, but since he couldn't back out now he joined Roddy. The two of them sat on a half-constructed wall (thankfully all of the cement there had dried) and Roddy started to tear up bits of a sandwich from a box he had, throwing chunks out for the dogs.

“So what are you doing out here then?” Roddy asked.

“Oh, yer know, I were just passing and thought I'd drop in,” dismissed Badger.

It was clear from Roddy's face that this excuse hadn't flown. He stared at Badger for a moment, seeing right through him in a way that Badger had previously believed only Marilyn could.

“It's Crow,” Roddy stated.

“No, it's not Crow! ...Fer once. I swear it's not,” whined Badger, “It's... well, I've been doing some thinking about... the, um, the auctions and I reckon that I've been unfair t' yer.”

“Go on,” prompted Roddy. For whatever reason he'd decided not to make this easy.

“Look... I still doun't think this whole thing is good fer me or Crow, but... but that doun't give me a right t' stop any of yers if this is what yer want t' do,” Badger explained. He wasn't good with words, but it always seemed as if Roddy appreciated someone getting to the point. Which was strange, considering that his best friend was Crow, who rarely ever did anything other than dance around what he truly meant.

“So what are you going to do?” Roddy quizzed.

“Dunno...” muttered Badger. And he honestly didn't. It was a question that he'd been avoiding asking even himself. So he didn't have any answer to give to Roddy. But now that he'd been asked it, he found that he brain was trying to whirl out a response, so he talked along with it as it went; “I reckon... that I should see what Crow does. But I dunno what 'e'll do eitheh. If 'e stays 'ere then 'e'll 'ave t' live with an auction that belongs t' someone else. And if 'e goes 'ome then it's like admitting defeat and that's even worse fer 'im. Afteh everything 'e's been through to get 'ere, Crow will neveh accept that the world was too much fer 'im.”

“London's too much for him. That doesn't mean the whole world is. There's more to the world than Misthallery and London,” Roddy corrected.

“And will it be different in every place?” checked Badger, feeling both scared and strangely curious at that notion.

“Everywhere is what you make of it, but some places are easier to make into something than others,” answered Roddy.

“I see...” Badger murmured, hoping that he did.

“The way I see it is that London's gonna break Crow,” Roddy theorised, snapping off a piece of sandwich to demonstrate his point, “I'm not sure how yet, but something will happen that's gonna push him over the edge. We've all seen that happen before and we know how unpredictable it can be. None of us can say what will happen after that. But I can say that Crow will need someone to pick up the pieces of him.”

Badger drew his knees up to his chest, knowing exactly where that was going.

“So why can't yer do it, Roddeh? Why does it 'ave t' be me?” he mumbled.

“...Because you love Crow,” Roddy replied, as he tossed the piece he'd torn off out to Ringo.

And there it was. Someone had said it. Just like that. Part of Badger felt a little indignant that it had happened so suddenly and without any fanfare.

The other part of him wanted to go down fighting.

“But yer love 'im too,” Badger insisted, “Doun't tell me that yer doun't. The onleh other way I'd see that expression yer give 'im sometimes is if I could see meself looking at 'im.”

Roddy laughed and didn't deny it; “I do love Crow, but I love my family more. So I have to do what's best for them and also for me. Which isn't Crow. He's... something else and I'm glad that I've had the time with him that I have, but he's not for me.”

“Oh yeah? And yer reckon that just 'cause I doun't 'ave anyone else that I love as much as Crow that I need t' to stick with 'im fer all eternity? That's not fair,” protested Badger.

“What I reckon is that you two would be good for each other, but you need to find yourselves before you find each other or else it'll hurt more,” Roddy said, looking out at where Ringo and Sausage were yapping together, “And from the way things are right now I think that you'll find yourself before he finds himself. You've come a long way, even if you don't think you have. So when he falls, you'll have to be strong for both of you, so he can stand up and be strong enough for himself. Then you'll be able to be strong enough for each other. Or maybe I've been listening to Marilyn and Gus talking too much and I'm just babbling on like they do.”

“Do the three of yers sit around and talk about us?” gasped Badger.

“Don't change the subject,” Roddy laughed, “Look, the way I see it, you can stick with Crow and accept it'll be worse before it gets better or you could do what I'm doing and get out while you still can.”

“We both know I woun't leave 'im...” Badger whispered.

“Yeah, we do,” agreed Roddy.

“So... what now?” Badger asked, “What can I do fer 'im when everything come tumbling down?”

“That I don't have an answer to,” confessed Roddy, pulling himself up off the wall, “From here on out you'll be going further than I have in the art of sticking with Crow, so you'll have to figure it out on your own. Not that you haven't been doing a good job of that already. I guess all I could say is to go along with the flow of him and accept that you dunno what he might do next. It's all about learning when to follow him and when to grab him by the arm to pull him away.”

“I neveh expected it t' be easy... But thanks Roddeh, I appreciate all of this,” Badger replied, as he also got up from where he was sat.

“No problem,” Roddy dismissed, “And we're all still on for that auction tonight, yeah?”

“As far as I know,” answered Badger, “See yer there.”

With that the two of them bid each other goodbye and went back about their way. It would be inaccurate for Badger to say that he felt better because of the talk they'd just had, but he definitely felt more grounded. Because Roddy was right that he'd stick by Crow and Badger had a feeling he was also right that it wouldn't be too much longer before something snapped. So Badger would have to be ready for it. He would have to judge when it was right to step in and help before it was too late.

Although he thankfully didn't have too much time to dwell on how that might come about, because as soon as he walked through the door into Sharpace Rest he was greeted by the sight of Crow and Scraps talking together. At first he was worried, because tensions had been high between them ever since that first Desmond-dictated auction, but then he realised that both of them were smiling cheerfully. Whatever they'd said while Badger was away it seemed to have gone well.

“So ya admit it then? Ya admit that ya were wrong?” teased Crow, leaning in close and grinning.

“I admit nothing!” defied Scraps, with his arms folded, “And look – Badger's here.”

“Hey, Badge'!” Crow waved at him, but then rounded back on Scraps, “Anyway, don't try to wriggle outta this. I've bin waitin' too long to 'ear this from ya.”

“Why does it matter anyway?” huffed Scraps.

“'Cause I know that ya know it's a bit o' an act. Not all o' it, most rich people are terrible an' I'll agree with ya on that, but there is part o' ya that doesn't 'ate every one o' them. Ya liked Tony an' Arianna, didn't ya?” Crow insisted.

Scraps turned to Badger; “Please make him stop.”

“What's all this about?” enquired Badger. He knew that talking about the wealthy with Scraps was always a dangerous topic.

“We were talkin' about all this new auction stuff an' we kinda 'ad a bit o' an argument. Yeah, anothah one,” admitted Crow, “But then when Scraps was tryin' to make me see it 'is way, 'e made a lotta good points about 'ow great Sycamore's ideas are an' there we 'ave it – Scraps thinks a rich guy is great.”

“I never said that!” Scraps hotly denied.

“Look, it's fine. It's all fine,” soothed Crow, “If anythin' I'm kinda glad that ya stopped bein' suspicious about 'im. Remembah when we found all those papahs in the basement an' ya were so determined to 'ave a look at 'em before Umid whisked 'em away. It's good that ya settled down about that.”

“Y-yeah...” mumbled Scraps.

Badger looked between the two of them. Scraps being reminded about the papers seemed to have caused him to suddenly tune out of the conversation a bit, which Crow seemed ever so slightly pleased about. It appeared that the puppet-master was back to tugging softly at the strings.

“But seriously,” Crow went on, “Talkin' to Scraps 'as made me realise 'ow unreasonable I've bin. Max told me that 'e can't make tonight's auction, so I'm gonna step up an' take my place back on the stage. Bin long ovahdue, 'asn't it?”

“I guess so,” agreed Badger, who was actually more concerned about Scraps right now.

“Right, so I'm gonna 'ead off an' get stuff prepared for this evenin',” Crow concluded, with a clap of his hands, “Ya comin'?”

“I'll... be along later,” replied Scraps, “Got something I need to see to first.”

With that he headed off upstairs without a backwards glance at them. Something wasn't right here and Badger knew it. This time he decided the right thing to do wasn't to follow Crow.

“Yeah, me too,” Badger lied.

“Come on, Badge',” pleaded Crow, “I know that this kinda auction ain't wot eithah o' us 'ad in mind, but we should give it a chance for the othahs sake.”

“I will do, doun't worreh,” assured Badger, “But there summit else I got t' see to. Just go get started and I'll catch up.”

“If ya say so,” Crow sighed.

He shrugged and then turned away, acting as if he was put-out that neither of them had taken his sudden change of heart as a bigger deal. But Badger knew that it was indeed an act. There was no way that he would admit he was wrong out of nowhere for very little reason. And he definitely didn't trust Desmond. No, that whole talk had been about subtly reminding Scraps that he was the one to initially not trust that man. There was no saying what was on those papers Umid had stored away, but if there was anything that would put Desmond in a negative light then Scraps needed to be the one to see it. That was Crow's game. He was trying to tear this apart.

And maybe... maybe Badger should let him get on with it. After all, if Desmond really wasn't safe then they should know that sooner rather than later. But then Badger thought of the others, of how well this was going for each of them – Becky, Max, Roddy and even Scraps. He knew that just because Crow was going down, it didn't mean that he had to drag all the others with him.

So he waited for Crow to disappear down to the basement, then he followed Scraps upstairs, moving as quietly as a mouse. One thing Badger's rocky past with his dad meant was that he was no stranger to sneaking about a house and at least in Sharpace Rest none of the floorboards creaked. It was easy enough to follow Scraps without being noticed, especially when his friend was so distracted.

Sure enough, Scraps made his way into Desmond's room and across to the cupboard that had been deemed out of bounds for them. In fact, the whole room was. Badger had no doubt that if Desmond caught them in here, they'd be thrown out onto the streets faster than Tony could buy out Aunt Taffy's entire stock of sweets on a Monday. But luckily for them even Desmond had to go to work sometimes. Right now, as far as Badger could tell, the professor wasn't in the house. If he was wrong about that then Desmond would make it known soon enough...

By the time Badger peered around the door Scraps was already trying to force the cupboard's handle open with little avail. He then swore loudly and began to hunt around the room for a key. After a brief debate with himself about what would be best, Badger decided he should stop this before it went too far.

“Scraps, this isn't right,” he said, as he took a step into the room.

“No, what's not right is him hiding something from us,” grumbled Scraps. His head was under the bed and he didn't even bother to pull it out to reply to Badger.

“Whateveh's on those papers that's 'is business. I doubt it's even important,” Badger reasoned.

“If it's not a big deal then why didn't he show us from the start?” Scraps retorted, “Why does he have to hide an old newspaper article about Monte d'Or and whatever else is there? Rich people always have secrets.”

“Yer just saying that,” Badger tried, “Does anyone show everything they've got written down t' everyone in their 'ouse? The reason 'e 'asn't shown us is because whateveh it is it's nowt t' do with us.”

“I'm making it to do with me! ...ah-HA!”

With that exclamation, Scraps shuffled back out from under the bed. He held a little box that, when opened, contained many small trinkets. Badger noticed another photo of Desmond's family amongst other things, but that was brushed a side as Scraps pulled out a key and rushed back over to the cupboard.

And sure enough, once he placed it into the keyhole, it turned with a satisfying click and allowed the door to be easily pulled open.

Inside were all the papers from the basement, piled haphazardly on top of each other. It was a wonder that the whole pile didn't topple over with the rush of air from the opening door. Before Badger could do anything to stop him, Scraps seized the nearest newspaper. And then another and another.

“Something about that Ambrosia place that Layton discovered,” muttered Scraps, as he threw that paper down, “One about the little town that got attacked by those ancient robot thingies – Froenborg I think it's called. Here's the Masked Gentleman one I saw as well. And one about...”

“...About what?” prompted Badger, who had started to pick the discarded papers back up before Desmond could come in an find them all over the floor.

“The Golden Garden,” Scraps replied, “What could Sycamore have to do with that?”

Hearing that name was enough to surprise Badger. The Golden Garden was these days just a popular tourist spot in Misthallery. But back when it had first been discovered... that was quite a different story.

“It's probably because 'e's an archaeologist,” Badger said, reminding himself of this as much as Scraps, “I bet when that garden were first made known it were a big deal t' people like 'im. All of these are probably just 'im keeping records of famous discoveries.”

Scraps had all but climbed into the cupboard now. When he pulled himself out again he clutched a piece of paper and looked not too happy. Badger noted that whatever he had in his hand wasn't a newspaper clipping this time.

“Then what's this?” he demanded.

The paper was held out for Badger to see. On it were many hastily scribbled notes that Badger couldn't read even if he wanted to, but he didn't need to read the words to be able to see the image that had been drawn in the middle of the page. It was a small scale illustration of a drilling robot that looked all too familiar...

“It... look, 'e couldeh got that from anywhere,” Badger denied, though he didn't even believe his own words at this point, “Everyone knows about them robots now, since Socket fixed them up fer repairing the 'ouses. Just because 'e 'as a drawing of them doun't mean that 'e's-”

The door slammed shut. They both turned around in time to hear another key click into place. This one didn't sound nearly as satisfying. By the time Scraps had rushed over to try the handle, footsteps could be heard walking away. It was too late. They were trapped.

“...Descole,” Badger whispered.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scraps and Badger are trapped and if they don't get out of the room they're stuck in soon then they can't be sure what will happen to their friends. After all, surely Descole's intentions could only be sinister...

“It's no use!” Scraps seethed, “We're not getting out of this door until someone let's us!”

“They can't keep us in 'ere fereveh,” Badger mused, from where he was sat on the bed, “Eventually someone's gan t' ask where we are.”

“They've got an auction to keep them distracted,” reminded Scraps.

“An auction that the two of us are suppose t' be part of,” Badger pointed out.

“It won't take Sycamore two minutes to come up with an excuse,” Scraps argued, “You know what he's like about twisting words. All he needs to say is that he sent us out for whatever reason and everybody will believe him. They all believe that man's lies! Even I did...”

“Crow didn't. Crow will know summit's wrong,” Badger assured him, “And even if the worst 'appens and they gan through the auction without us, they'll still notice afteh that. At some point 'e'll 'ave t' admit t' locking us in 'ere.”

“Yeah, but... if he really is... Descole, then who's saying what he's got up his sleeves,” mumbled Scraps. He reached down to pick up a newspaper article. From the photo on the front it looked to be the one about Ambrosia; “It says here that he had people working for him. And we know that in Misthallery he twisted Jakes around his finger. If he wants us gone then... then...”

Badger stood up; “...Then we need t' get outteh 'ere before 'e can do anything t' stop us.”

“Any bright ideas?” Scraps asked.

“We're not getting out through that door,” hummed Badger, “And the window is locked as well. But there's a chair by the table oveh there.”

“Are you suggesting we smash the place up? Desmond's not going to like that,” replied Scraps, a wicked smirk spread across his features.

“Yeah, well Sycamore can send me the bill!” Badger proclaimed, sounding braver than he felt. Honestly, he wished that Crow could have been there for that moment and heard him say that. But then the inner Badger took over and he added, “Besides, it's only a window. If we're wrong about all this then it woun't cost too much t' fix.”

By the time he said this last part, however, Scraps had already grabbed the chair and was rushing it towards the window. There was no time for Badger to say that they should be delicate about this, to make sure they had the least amount of broken glass to deal with as possible. Because before such a consideration was even a twinkle in Badger's eye, Scraps had hurtled the chair through the window. It flew out with a loud shatter of breaking glass and Badger thought that he heard it smack softly against one of the rosebushes outside. He stared at the panting Scraps part in horror and part in admiration.

“You have no idea how long I've wanted to ruin this toff's house,” Scraps stated.

“I could... take a pretteh good guess,” murmured Badger. It wasn't as if Scraps's hatred of the rich was a secret to anyone who'd spent more than a few minutes talking to him.

With that, the two of them walked over to the window. It took a few minutes to carefully remove the remaining shards of glass so that they could safely climb out. A process that wasn't made easier by the fact it was already dark outside. Badger looked around. He could see fancy cars lined up all down the road, but the only being in the garden was Catanova, who watched them curiously. It seemed as if all of the guests were already inside. Badger cursed himself that the two of them had sat idly in the room for as long as they had before he'd come up with this idea.

Scaling rooftops and walls was something that most members of the Black Ravens fast became experts at. So it didn't take Badger too long to get down from the second floor and then help Scraps along with him. Once they were safely onto the grass, Badger looked through the nearest window. Although the warm yellow glow of the lights was present, it seemed that no one was inside. They must have already gone down to the basement.

“I guess the auctions started,” he mumbled, “We could wait 'til it's oveh...”

“No, Descole is dangerous and they need to know that as soon as possible,” Scraps insisted, “That man tore our homes apart, corrupted our whole police force, not to mention our mayor, and let's not forget – killed Loosha! Just because he wanted some flute. I know that you like to take the peaceful way out, Badger, but we can't do that this time. We need to stop him before he hurts our friends!”

“Yer right... I know,” admitted Badger, as the two of them headed over to the door, “But I still doun't undehstand what 'e even wants from all this. Mebbe 'e remembehs us from back then and just wants revenge or summit. Or mebbe it's not like that at all...”

Badger couldn't stop himself from thinking of Umid. It had to be something to do with Umid.

“I don't care,” growled Scraps, “I genuinely don't care. We're going to go in there, punch him in the mouth and not even for a moment stop to ask- ...Look, Catanova, I know you like me a lot, but you really can't come with us this time.”

Scraps forcefully picked up the large cat and put him down facing away from the door, then he ushered him off with a loud shoo. Catanova yodelled inappreciatively and darted off. Badger couldn't help but look the way he ran, feeling sympathetic, even if it was for the best. He watched as the cat rushed towards the gate, where it seemed that an old man had appeared and was looking at them with intrigue.

“Nothing t' see 'ere! Just an 'ouse parteh got a bit outteh control,” Badger called over.

“Aye lad, if yer say so,” the man replied. Then he disappeared off on his way.

“Do yer think we shouldeh told that guy?” Badger asked, once they were both inside of Sharpace Rest.

“Nah, it would've taken too long to explain and I doubt he'd believe us,” dismissed Scraps, “What good could some old geezer do anyway?”

“I guess yer right,” agreed Badger.

Somehow, despite Scraps's rage, they managed to walk down the hallway without making too much noise. Beneath their feet was the low rumbling of the crowd talking. Probably the others were down there, not at all suspecting that anything was more out of the ordinary than just two of the Black Ravens not being present for some reason. But it didn't sound as if the auctions had actually started yet. If that had been the case then everyone would have been silent except for the auctioneer himself.

They got near the trapdoor, which was not yet closed, and Badger felt the butterflies make their scheduled appearance in his stomach. Just a few more steps and they'd be in a room full of people, including their friends, with the knowledge that Descole was amongst them...

“There ya are!”

The two of them turned in time to see Crow and Roddy rushing over to them, both looking concerned.

“Fine time you two picked to go wandering off,” Roddy scolded, “Sycamore said you'd be back for the auction, but no antique is worth cutting it this fine. Honestly, you're both such a pain.”

“I told you he'd come up with something...” growled Scraps.

“Wot do ya mean?” asked Crow, as he looked between the two of them in understandable confusion.

Badger decided it was up to him to take the stage for this one.

He took a deep breath and started; “Crow, I know yer baited Scraps int' looking fer dirt on Sycamore. And it turned out yer were right, but it were... much more than any of us were expecting...”

“As in we-need-to-put-a-stop-to-this-nut kind of more than we expected,” Scraps carried on, seeming not to care that Crow had tricked him, “Guys, Desmond Sycamore is Descole!”

Even though Scraps had been the one to say it, Badger felt his own mouth grow dry. The look of stunned fear that came across both Crow and Roddy's faces suggested they felt much the same way. Their hearts might as well have stopped in that moment.

“...Are you sure?” Roddy checked, obviously wanting this to be a bad joke.

“There's tons of evidence up in his room, though he's locked it,” Scraps answered, “Which, by the way, is where we've been all evening – locked up in that room. The only reason we got out is because Badger had the sense to smash the window.”

“Did ya really do that, Badge'?” checked Crow. Despite everything that was happening, he sounded impressed.

A small bead of pride started to build up inside Badger, fighting through all the butterflies for dominance. He wanted to say that, yes, he did do that and it was so amazing that he wished Crow could have been there to see it, but in fate's usual fashion he was interrupted before anything of the kind could come out of his mouth.

This time it was Umid, coming up from the basement to check what was taking them so long. And unfortunately he was not alone. The taller figure of Desmond walked behind him, his eyes narrowing maliciously as soon as he saw that Badger and Scraps had escaped from where he'd left them.

“I am glad to see the two of you are back,” Umid said, as he made his way over, “But we cannot keep the people waiting any longer. They are asking for the Black Raven.”

“They can go on askin' then, 'cause I ain't goin' into a den o' Descole's friends!” spat Crow, glaring over at Desmond.

“What are you talking about?” asked Umid.

“He's talking about foolish notions that prevent him from seeing what must be done,” Desmond answered, “Isn't that what he always does?”

“Don't ya dare try that on with me!” Crow screeched.

The murmuring from below increased in volume. It seemed that Crow's outburst hadn't gone unnoticed by the crowd. But then Desmond did something that none of them expected, he walked across and put his fingers up to Crow's lips, motioning for him to be silent.

“Now, now, little man, let's not upset the punters, as you'd call them,” chuckled Desmond, “Though then again, I suppose you could upset them and cause everything that you've built in London to come crashing down at your feet.”

“I didn't build any o' this,” Crow growled, pushing back away from Desmond's hand, “This is all your doin'!”

“You're right. It would be unfair to give you credit when all you've done is sit around and sulk as soon as things stopped going your way,” agreed Desmond, “But you see, your friends have worked for all of this. Under my guidance, yes, but they nurtured this auction, even without you, and made it into something that has been helping them survive this whole time. Don't let that stop you though, go ahead and shout. Ruin everything that they have, just because you need the whole world to know that you were right.”

“Crow, he's just trying to trick you,” Roddy barked, “We've started from nothing before and we can do it again. We don't need this!”

“...But Crow's pride will not pay your family's rent. Nor will it fix the hole in the hotel's roof or let Becky sleep at night knowing that Margaret, Max and Grafton are all safe.” It was Umid who spoke up this time; “I do not know what is going on here, but I do know that you need these auctions, if not for you then for those who depend on you.”

“Descole killed an innocent creature and destroyed most of our town!” Scraps shouted.

“But Desmond Sycamore did not,” answered Desmond himself, “And if you'll excuse him, he has to go now. I will not be coming back, not ever. It is your choice what to do from here – do you follow me and lose everything you've worked for, or do you carry on, maintaining the lives you've become accustomed to and live forever knowing that you let Descole get away?”

“I'll show ya wot-”

Crow surged forwards, but before he could get close, Umid threw himself at him. The two of them tumbled to the ground in a mess of flailing limbs, punching out at each other. The others watched, stunned, which was all the time that Desmond needed to slip off.

“You cannot do this, Crow! Think of your friends!”

“Wot part o' Descole ruined our lives do ya not undahstand?”

“If you keep this up then you will be the only one ruining our lives, not the professor!”

“We don't... need 'im... I won't be the Black Raven... for 'im...!”

Crow crawled out from under Umid with some struggling. It seemed as if Umid had accepted that no matter what he said, Crow was going to go after Desmond and there was no talking him out of it. He looked as if he was about to cry. Badger couldn't blame him for that.

“Th-then go, be a hero then! But I will not follow you and send us all to ruin,” hissed Umid, “I will be the Black Raven if you will not.”

“Enjoy runnin' this farce o' a London branch by yaself then,” Crow snapped, pulling himself up to his feet, “'cause no real Black Ravens are gonna stay 'ere!”

With that, Crow took off after Desmond and Scraps followed in an instant. Badger and Roddy hesitated for a fraction of a moment longer and in that moment Umid reached out. He grabbed Roddy's shoulder with a shaky hand.

“Please... I cannot... I can't do this on my own...” he whispered.

Whatever internal struggle Roddy had in that moment, Badger would never know. But the result was that Roddy turned back to Umid and nodded.

“All right, you have me on your side and I'm the one who helped Crow found the Black Ravens back at the start. Not many people know these auctions better than me,” Roddy comforted, “Even if it won't be easy with just the two of us, it'll be less of a pain than running all over London and listening to Crow yelling. And speaking of that, what are you waiting for, Badger?”

“R-reet...!”

Without needing to be told twice, Badger left the two of them to get on with it and pelted out of the door after the others. He looked around; the garden was empty but he could just hear Crow and Scraps shouting to each other down the road. So Badger followed the voices, but he didn't very far out into streets before he almost tripped over Catanova.

“Argh! Yer... yer great b-big... cat!” winced Badger. Sometimes just calling a cat what it was could be the biggest insult you could give it, Badger felt; “Get outteh the way!”

But Catanova did not get out of the way at all. He weaved in and out between Badger feet as he ran, meowing loudly as he did. It was hard to get more than a few steps like that, so soon enough Badger stopped to glare down at him.

“What do yer want?”

Having gotten Badger's full attention, Catanova bounded off across the street and gracefully climbed up one of the walls. Then he turned to look back at Badger, clearly waiting for him to follow. And against all logic, that was what Badger did.

He climbed up after Catanova, which caused the cat to jump off ahead, move a little way away and stop to wait for Badger to follow. This kept up again and again. Part of Badger worried that he was wasting time, but he could still faintly hear the voices of the other two, so if this led to nothing then he could just drop it and go after them.

However, after a little while of following Catanova, Badger found himself glad he did. They'd ended up in a part of London that Badger had never been to before. It looked like some kind of yard for small planes and helicopters, as best Badger could tell in the dark. Catanova stopped suddenly at the edge of one of the large shacks and so did Badger. Which was fortunate, as a few steps further and he would have been directly in the eyesight of the exact person he was looking for.

“This couldeh been it, I canae believe yer would throw it all away, masteh.”

The man's voice sounded more tired than anything else. As if the owner had put himself through a lot to be here and was almost home free, only to have everything snatched away. Probably not for the first time.

“I was ignorant to think that they wouldn't catch on,” sighed a voice that was undeniably Desmond, “Once you've committed crimes they never truly leave you, Raymond. And my life is a trail of lies. Someone like me cannot settle down.”

“Honestly I'm beginnin' to doubt that yer wanna settle doon at all,” Raymond accused.

“To continue as we always have been would not be fair to you. You're not... as young as you once were,” replied Desmond.

“None ah this was done fer my sake, was it though?” Raymond pressed.

“I had... well, it wasn't as if Umid could ever be family to me. Time and time again I've been shown that I cannot have family... But I had wanted... to pretend. For a while. All I wish is that I could have said goodbye to him properly,” Desmond confessed. In that moment he sounded even more weary than the old man he was talking with.

“Gotteh 'ave that dramatic exit, aye?” said Raymond, with an empty chuckle.

“Please, tell him that I wanted things to be different.”

“What do yer mean, masteh?”

“I mean that I need to leave this place, but you do not,” Desmond explained, “And don't try to argue with me, Raymond. We both know fine well that you can't follow me forever, as much as I would like to keep your company. Your back is not what it use to be, ancient ruins have lost their appeal to you and I see you look longingly off into the distance, wanting a place of your own. Don't make me drag you along any further than I already have.”

“Masteh, I canae...”

“My mind is made up.”

That was all there was to it. Whatever happened next, Badger didn't know. He heard footsteps, thankfully they headed away from him and then a long silence. There was a sigh from the person Badger presumed to be Raymond, but that was all he heard before the loud whir of an engine started up. It sounded as if something noisy was taking off. And sure enough, a few minutes later Badger watched as a fat red craft came out from next to the shack he'd been hiding behind. The craft made its way down a landing strip, before it began to ascend up into the night's sky. He'd never seen anything like it before and his mouth hung open as he watched it leave. In that moment, Badger knew with certainty that there was nothing he could do to stop Descole from leaving.

“I'm surprised that engine didnae scare yer off, wee kitty.”

Badger turned around again to see the old man scoop Catanova up into his arms. He'd been caught now. The shock of that made him stumble back and fall to the ground. His mouth continued to hang open like it had done when he'd watched the plane, since he didn't know what he could say or even what this Raymond person might do to him.

However, Raymond did nothing more than scratch Catanova behind the ears. When he spoke to Badger it was in a calm tone.

“Yer did a good thing t' let 'im git away,” Raymond praised, “That man will neveh be back 'ere and yer birdie friend will neveh get the peace ah mind to knae that 'e stopped Descole, but 'e weren't at the front ah that queue by a lang shot.”

And with that disheartening conclusion, Raymond walked past him, still carrying Catanova, and left. There was nothing else that Badger could do. Why would he even stop Raymond, when he had no idea who the man was? His only crime was to be talking with Descole and at this point none of them were free from that crime any more. It seemed as if, whoever Raymond might have been in the past, right at this moment his only concern was to sort out the retirement that Descole had forced onto him.

Whereas Badger's only concern was now to find Crow...

He wandered back out into the streets without the resolve he'd had previously. It did indeed look like some sort of aerodrome that Catanova had led him to in his quest to find Descole. Which also meant that because this wasn't any place that Badger had ever been to before, it took him a while to find his way back into the more familiar parts of London.

Eventually he made it back to Sharpace Rest. As he passed the house, Scraps was waiting outside of the gate. The two of them exchanged a wordless glance, then Scraps shook his head. He pointed further down the street. That was where Crow had gone. Badger simply nodded to Scraps and then went after Crow.

Their leader was at the end of the road, hand resting against a lamppost and panting heavily. Badger saw him reach up his other arm to wipe away his tears onto the sleeve of his jacket. Somehow Crow knew that he had failed.

So Badger came to him, making no attempt to hide his presence. Crow looked up and in those eyes everything was said. Between them passed the acceptance that Descole was gone, they would never get closure on what had happened all those years ago in Misthallery, that Crow had ran out on the other Black Ravens and left them to get on with the auction without him. Which was fine, since they didn't need him here and he couldn't hold onto this place. London had defeated Crow.

“Badge'... I really... really messed this one up...”

To that, Badger could have lied. He could have told Crow that he hadn't messed anything up, that it was just the heat of the moment and the others would understand. The old Badger definitely would have done that. Even the Badger from a few mere weeks ago might have done it. But this Badger, the one who stood here right now, knew what he needed to say. He knew what Crow had to hear.

“...Yeah. Yeah, yer did mess up, Crowlo.”

With that, Crow released his grip on the lamppost, hobbled weakly over to Badger and shakily placed his head onto his chest. As Badger gently put his arms around him, he could hear Crow sobbing quietly against him. What Crow needed right now, was for Badger to hold him.

London was over.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fractured once more, the Black Ravens go about their different ways in better spirits now than they have been for a while. But before the end of their London adventures, Crow has something that he needs to say to Badger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And this chapter marks the end of Act Three! Next time Gasping Liquid updates it'll be to start Act Four. But before that I'll be posting a side-story called “Journey of Many Nuisances”. This side-story will be about Roddy, showing what happened to the other Black Ravens after Badger, Crow and Scraps left Misthallery, as well as how Roddy was reunited with his father, Hardy. I'm looking forward to finally posting a Roddy father theory fic, haha.

“Are you sure there's nothing I can do to convince you to stay? Good hotel staff are hard to find, you know.”

“Sorreh Beckeh, but me mind's made up. And besides, yer always do a great job even when yer doun't 'ave 'elp,” answered Badger.

“Oh, I know that,” assured Becky, “But it never hurts to have an extra set of hands around. Especially since it looks as if Umid's going to have his hands full with keeping the Black Ravens going here, so I can't even count on him being there full time. I just hope he's not biting off more than he can chew by taking this on.”

“Don't worreh about Umid - Roddeh and Scraps will keep 'im reet,” assured Badger, “If they can keep Crow reet then they can keep anyone reet.”

“Ain't that the truth!” Becky laughed.

With that, she helped Badger carry his bags down the stairs of Sharpace Rest. Today he was headed off again and he had no idea when he'd be back. But he hoped that, unlike Desmond, he would return here someday. In the months that he'd spent living here, Badger had begrudgingly become fond of the place. However, inside his heart he knew that he was not home and that this house could never be a place that he could make into his home, no matter how nice it might be. It was too grand for Badger.

He was very lucky that Crow felt the same way about that matter.

“Here he comes, choosing today as the one day of his life that he sleeps in,” called Scraps, who was waiting for both of them at the bottom of the stairs.

“I didn't sleep in, I just wanted t' be well prepared before I go,” Badger assured him.

“You know I'm only joking,” dismissed Scraps, “Honestly, you two are going to be a miss around here. Roddy never rises to my jokes, I don't think Umid gets half of them and I'm too scared of Becky to risk making her angry.”

“Too right you should be!” Becky chimed.

“It's not too late, yer could still come with us,” offered Badger.

But Scraps shook his head; “No thanks. In some weird way I think that this is the place for me. Not because of all the toffs, I could live without them. But I'm not ready to finish London until I've conquered it. Give me a few years and I'm sure I'll have this city eating out of the palm of my hand.”

“I don't doubt you will!” Badger laughed, sincerely meaning it.

Before he could get to the door, Max blocked their path. He held out two packages that were wrapped tightly in cling film.

“Ding! Ding! Ding! The grand prize! You get a couple of Granny Margaret's cheese scones for the road!” he proclaimed.

“Thanks Max,” said Badger.

He took the scones and with some difficulty managed to balance them amongst all of the bags he was already carrying. Soon enough he would probably have to stop to reshuffle his bags, as well as the ones that Becky was currently carrying for him, since she wouldn't be able to come all the way to the train station with them.

“So this is it then,” Becky stated, once the scones had been delivered, “Granny and Grafton send their love, even if they couldn't be here. And I know that Crow wants to stop in at the building site to see Roddy before he heads off. He was already up and saying his farewells to us before you were, in his own awkward way.”

“We'll be back,” Badger promised, “Crow just needs t' get 'is 'ead outteh London fer a while first.”

“I hope that when we next see you both there'll be less drama,” Becky admitted.

“Nah, I hope for all the drama – bring it on,” contrasted Scraps.

“We'll be able t' stay true t' one of those, I'm sure,” Badger replied, “But fer now, stay safe, all of yer.”

He took the rest of his bags from Becky, nodded to the three of them and then turned to head down the path to where Crow was waiting by the gate. He knew that Crow wouldn't look back at the house, both because of his pride and how sentimental he was about saying goodbye. And sure enough, the leader starting to walk off as soon as he knew Badger was coming. But Badger couldn't help himself but take one final look at Sharpace Rest, wave to Becky, Scraps and Max, then head off after Crow.

“Max is gonna make a great Black Raven, I told 'im that before I left,” mumbled Crow, once they were further down the road, “I know they're gonna do well 'ere, they're all strong. They're all built for London... Oi, Badge', wot do ya think ya doin' carryin' all that? Do ya really need to bring this much?”

With that, Crow reached over to take a few of the bags from Badger.

“Got t' be prepared,” Badger insisted.

“I remembah ya felt the same way when we first arrived. Though nothin' could o' prepared us for everythin' in London, could it?” mused Crow.

“Look, Crow... just because London didn't work out, it doun't mean that-”

“-I know. It's okay Badge', I know.”

That was all Badger got out of him on the matter as they continued the walk towards the construction site where Roddy would be working. There were so many questions on Badger's mind, one of which was actually where they were ultimately going. At this point he knew that he couldn't get by in life through blind faith in Crow alone, but sometimes the excitement of the unknown was still appealing enough for him not to ask.

Fancy that – Badger being excited by the unknown instead of scared by it. Who would have ever thought he'd get to that point?

One of the other questions on his mind was if Crow had seen Umid before they left, since Badger had been too busy packing to look around for anyone and hadn't come across Umid himself. But the answer to that one was soon made apparent, since when they arrived at where Roddy was, Umid was waiting there with him.

“I wanted to give the others a chance to say farewell to you on their own,” Umid admitted, when the two of them arrived.

“So he gatecrashed my tearful goodbye instead,” retorted Roddy.

“Leave it off, Rod, no goodbye from you is ever gonna be tearful,” Crow snorted.

“Nah, crying after you would be too much of a pain,” agreed Roddy, “But I am going to miss both of you. Even if it will be good to get a decent night's sleep without worrying about what trouble you're getting into.”

“Ya always gonna worry about me,” Crow insisted.

“I'll leave that to Badger from now on,” Roddy said, “Now be off with you and don't come back until you've made a name for yourself.”

“He is joking. I think. You can come back any time you like,” Umid quickly added.

“Th-thanks for sayin' so...” mumbled Crow, “An' listen, Umid, I'm sorry for all that stuff I said before. Ya were right to keep the auction goin' an' I'm glad it's worked out for ya, even without Sycamore. Ya truly are a Black Raven.”

“He doesn't need you to tell him that,” Roddy assured, a little more defensively than he'd usually be with Crow.

“But I'm glad of your words all the same,” Umid concluded, “We will work hard to keep the Black Raven name going here for both of you.”

“Thanks, we appreciate that,” said Crow. Then it seemed that he'd run out of things to say, because he awkwardly turned away and mumbled, “We bettah get goin', Badge'.”

“Right yer are, boss,” Badger agreed, “See yer both later!”

And with that, the two of them left the site. Badger briefly wondering if the next time they saw this place that it would actually be complete and Roddy's family would have moved onto working on another project. But whatever the situation, he knew for sure that Roddy would keep on working and pleasantly grumbling about what a nuisance it all was. That was his way.

“I think they'll keep each othah on the right path,” Crow mused, as if Roddy and Umid were the ones who needed help with that, “Umid's gotta be easiah to deal with than me.”

“Anyone's easieh t' deal with than you, Crowlo,” joked Badger.

They heard the sound of dogs barking as they walked off. In their own way, it seemed as if Ringo and Sausage were saying goodbye, too. And Badger thought that at this point they must have said all their farewells for London, but he was wrong about that.

As they walked through another residential area, a large feline bounded across their path and into one of the gardens. Neither of them needed to look twice to recognise that one, but when they glanced over at where he'd gone, Badger saw a face that he wasn't sure he was ready to confront just yet. Even if in the light of day, the old man looked different than he had done that night at the aerodrome – kindly and a little tired, but without any of the careful reserve he'd had before.

“There yer are, wee kitty. Got some nice fishies fer yer dinneh.”

To Crow, Raymond meant nothing. It was just nice to see Catanova have what looked like a permanent owner at last. But Badger knew that this person was their last link to Descole. And he was going to just walk away from that.

“The cat's called Catanoveh!” he called over, to the surprise of Crow as much as himself, “We looked afteh 'im fer a while. Please take good care of 'im!”

“Catanoveh, ay? Well, didnae yer worreh, laddie. I'll look afteh 'im!”

Which was the end of that. Badger felt that he could walk away from the situation knowing that, even though they might never have closure, so rarely in life did you ever truly get that and not having it wouldn't stop them from moving on. The only thing that would stop them from getting on with their futures would be them, which wasn't going to happen any more. At least not if Badger could help it.

That was the reassuring thought that Badger kept in his head when they finally reached King's Cross. He had built up a lot of anticipation about where Crow might be taking them, but what he didn't expect was for Crow to turn to him and say, “...So wot do ya think?”

“H-huh?” Badger stammered.

“About where we should go. Wot do ya think?” Crow clarified.

“I thought that yer were deciding that,” Badger admitted.

“We're in this togethah. I don't wanna go somewhere unless ya wanna go as well, Badge',” insisted Crow, “An' aftah all I've dragged ya through, if ya just wanna go back to Mist'allery than that's fine with me. It's safe there an' we know that we'll do well. The othahs will be glad to see us as well, I bet.”

“Nah,” Badger said, with absolute certainty, “I doun't want t' go back t' Mist'allereh. It might be safe, but I still want t' try summit new. Find a 'ome that we can make our own, in yer weird, Crow way. Just because it weren't London doun't mean it's not out there.”

That answer seemed to satisfy Crow. He smiled widely and stared out onto the tracks.

“Then it's decided – the next train that comes, we get on it. Though I 'afta admit that part o' me 'opes it's a south-bound one. Those northernahs are still a bit much for me,” he hummed.

“Not much south left now, Crowlo,” Badger pointed out.

They stood there together without talking for a while longer and the silence felt good. But not as good as what happened once the train started to pull up at the platform they were waiting for it at. Before Badger could make a move, Crow reached out and grabbed his hand. It was so sudden that Badger almost jumped out of his skin. But then he turned to look at Crow and the leader was staring at him, his face full of intrigue and a little bit of terror. Badger didn't know what to expect. This scored high on the chart of Crow doing things out of nowhere.

“Look, Badge'... aftah all we've bin through... I know that I ain't bin the best I could o' bin. An' I will try to get bettah, I promise I will,” Crow whispered, all of this coming out of his mouth in such a hurry, as if he was worried the words would disappear if he didn't say them soon, “...But aftah everythin' that's 'appened, c-can we agree that we're togethah...? As in... togethah-togethah. L-like me an' Umid used to be. ...Are we togethah?”

Badger was very glad that he'd managed to make it all the way through his life up to this point. When there were so many times that he could have given up, both on Crow and on himself. But he was even more glad that he was now an older and wiser Badger than he had been at the start of all this. Against his expectations, he knew the answer to that question.

“...Nah, Crow. We're not togetheh,” he replied, “Not like that. Not like 'ow I want us to be. Because believe me, I do want t' be with yer like that. But yer... yer 'aven't been good enough to me and yer 'aven't asked propehly. If yer do want t' be togetheh though, if yer truly do, then ask again properly when yer good enough and I might say yes.”

Crow was stunned. He stared at Badger in awe. Then he let go of his hand and fell back, laughing his little laugh. He ran his hand through his hair, but then nodded hurriedly.

“Y-ya right, ya so right...” he hummed, “But I do want us to be, I definitely do. So I'll get bettah, so much bettah, an' then I'll ask ya again. 'Cause Badgah I... I lo- ...look at that! Train's 'ere! Off we go!”

All while they climbed onto the carriage Crow kept laughing. And Badger laughed along with him. Because Crow had asked if they were together and Badger had said no. But it was a good no. A no that might as well have been a maybe. Because maybe someday... maybe someday they would be together for real.

As they took a seat together in the surprisingly quiet carriage, Badger knew that their future was full of promise.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two travellers find somewhere completely unknown to them both and decide that this is the ideal place to begin the next part of their adventure. Except that Crow has his doubts that they'll be able to manage what they want to do. Thankfully, this time Badger can step in to help with the problem at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first chapter of Act Four! I promise we'll be seeing a few characters we haven't heard from in a while during this act. Also, if you haven't checked it out already, then I wrote a side-story called “Journey of Many Nuisances” that covers from Roddy's perspective some of what the other Black Ravens were up to during Act Three.

As the train rattled along, Crow sat balancing a piece of paper awkwardly on his lap while he wrote a letter. They hadn't been lucky enough to get a table this time, so both of them were cramped into one of the sets of double seats. Badger had the one nearest the window, so for a while now he'd idly gone between watching the world go by and looking down at what Crow was writing. Not that he could read it for himself anyway, but it was still nice to look at the pen move across the sheet all the same.

They'd been able to avoid any ticket checkers so far, which maybe Badger should have felt a little guilty about, but years of being a Black Raven had corrupted him enough to not be bothered. If they were caught, he would pay. But right now he'd much rather have the mystery of not knowing where they were going. The only part that Badger did know for sure was that they were going south. Crow had got his own way in that department.

After a while, curiosity gave out and Badger asked, “What are yer writing there?”

“Just a lettah to Mum,” answered Crow, “I've bin... not good about keepin' up with 'em. Even though I promised that I would. But I'm gonna get bettah about writin' to everyone.” Badger had a feeling this wasn't just about letters though and, sure enough, after a pause Crow added, “...I've not really bin good about bein' myself at all, lately.”

“Yer 'ad a tough time of it,” Badger defended, “What with all the changes gan on.”

“It ain't just that, Badge',” sighed Crow, “Lately it seems that I'm eithah great at wot I do, but too cold towards everyone, or I'm terrible at wot I do an' can't 'old a group togethah. I'm the leadah. That means I'm suppose to be good at everythin' I do all the time an' also good at dealin' with the people who do the other stuff.”

“Dunno if that's realleh what being a leadeh means, but it doun't matteh anyway. Reet now it's just the two of us, so yer can worreh about being a leadeh lateh and just focus on being a Crow fer now,” Badger soothed.

“I guess ya right...” Crow agreed, though he still sounded distant.

Eventually he finished his letter and put it away in his bag, presumably ready to send off whenever they found a post office. After that he joined Badger in looking out of the window. Even though it was well into spring now, the weather was still riddled with many rainy days and this one was turning out to be particularly miserable. Even the fields that they zoomed by were tinged with a deep grey from the heavy clouds overhead.

As the train got closer to where Badger assumed it would be terminating, they reached a more coastal area. This prompted a change in Crow, who almost leaned over Badger in an effort to see out of the window. At first Badger was confused, but then he remembered how rarely Crow had actually travelled in the past. He'd lived his whole life in Misthallery, gone to London a few times and travelled to rural Northumberland twice, but none of the places they'd been were that near the sea. The closest they'd got to that was a village not far from it when visiting Wren and Socket, but they'd been too busy doing other things to properly focus on stopping to admire it. So Badger decided that if this was where they were going to end up then he'd definitely have to show Crow the seafront. Maybe on a nicer day than today, however.

It wasn't much longer before the train pulled to a stop and an announcement informed them that they were in Southampton. Crow nodded to Badger. That was the signal to get off.

The two of them ambled into the station, loaded down with all the bags that they'd brought. It was good that they didn't draw any attention, because Badger doubted that they could have made a quick getaway like this. The first thing that hit them was how salty the air was compared to what they were use to, which seemed to put a spring in Crow's step. The second thing that hit them was the rain, once they were out of the station and onto the streets.

“Can ya see this, Badge'? This is great! It ain't anythin' like London or Mist'allery. Maybe this is just wot we need,” Crow clamoured.

“Mebbe,” hummed Badger, “But I think what we need first it t' find a 'otel.”

“Nah, we ain't gonna use one o' those,” Crow dismissed.

“It's chucking it down!” Badger argued.

“I didn't bothah with that the first time I went to London. I just wandahed around an' 'oped for the best. Worked out all right for me,” Crow reasoned.

“Need I remind yer that we lived in a 'otel fer the start of our stay in London?” Badger stated.

“Okay yeah, but we're startin' a new life 'ere, Badge'. We gotta take some risks,” insisted Crow.

Badger bent down to be level with Crow and stared directly into his visible eye. When he spoke again his tone left no room for arguments; “We're booking in somewhere fer one night. Afteh that yer can do what yer want.”

“All right, Badge',” mumbled Crow, defeated.

Even with that agreed upon there was then a matter of finding somewhere to stay in the first place. Neither of them knew anything about Southampton, so they did end up wandering fruitlessly through the streets for some time. And the rain didn't let up at all. It beat down hard on the travellers and from the looks of it even the drains on the roadside were at risk of overflowing. Not that any of this seemed to sour Crow's mood. He all but skipped along.

Their journey did take them onto a harbour after a while. Badger could tell that this city was probably known for it's shipping, as the ports were filled with bigger boats than he'd ever seen. Crow's face was a picture when he looked at them. No doubt he was already considering what kind of business ventures he could make with something like that.

Unfortunately for them, not even the most eager of fish 'n' chip vans had gone out to do trade on a day like today and they were too late for most of the shops, so there wasn't much to pick up in the way of food. It didn't matter too much though, as Badger assumed that when they'd found somewhere to stay that any accommodation would provide them with something to eat.

He'd wandered up another street leading away from the harbour, but after a minute turned around and realised that Crow hadn't followed him. Badger hastily backtracked to find him a little further down the street, staring at a building.

“Coming, Crow?” he asked.

“Badge'...” Crow whispered, “Look at this.”

With that, Badger followed Crow's gaze to the building that he was looking at so keenly. It was a tall, old structure that looked like it had suffered badly from a fire many years ago. The bottom of it was a boarded up shop front, while above that there were several floors of what was probably once a home or two. That sort of layout wasn't too unusual – there'd been many places like this in both London and Manchester, mostly in better condition, so Badger didn't get what the fuss was.

“Looks ah'reet,” he commented, for the sake of being nice.

“It's perfect...” Crow purred.

“Are yer... are yer sure?” checked Badger. He looked at Crow and then back up at the building again, to make sure they were both seeing the same thing.

“Wot are ya talkin' about? O' course it's perfect,” assured Crow. He stepped back a little and moved his fingers into the shape of a rectangle, as if he was taking a photo. Then he held it up towards the building and continued, “Just picture it. Once we give it a it o' work it'll be the ideal place to 'ave auctions. We could deck out the shop front for the quiet seasons an' live above it so we can keep an eye on it at all times.”

“I'm sure I remembeh yer saying at one point that yer weren't interested in opening a shop,” Badger reminded.

“That was back then,” Crow replied, “I've 'ad time to think about it an' see 'ow the world works since then. A shop would do us good sometimes.” But then he lowered his hands; “Not that it mattahs, given that we'd nevah be able to afford it anyway.”

Crow went from looking optimistic to dejected in no time at all as that realisation hit him. But for once, Badger was able to fix the problem for him.

“I bet we could,” said Badger, with a smile.

“Don't see 'ow, Badge',” Crow mumbled.

“Let's just find somewhere t' stay fer t'night and then tomorreh I'll show yer what I mean,” Badger answered, cryptically, “I doun't think we need to worreh about this place flying off the market oveh night.”

It was obvious that Crow didn't know what Badger meant, but he had faith in him all the same. So the two of them left Crow's dream house alone for that night and went to find a hotel.

***

The next morning, after having a good rest at a bed & breakfast, both Crow and Badger set out to do some research on the house they'd found. The rain had let up at last, but the streets were still damp from last night's downpour. And in the light of the day they were able to get a better look at the building. To Badger it still looked like what a salesperson would probably describe as a 'renovator's dream'. It needed a lot of work. Honestly, this place might be ideal for someone like Socket, who always wanted to fix up everything for himself, but it would be a lot of effort for the two of them. Regardless, Crow still seemed ecstatic about it and Badger could hardly let him down about that.

Especially since it did turn out that the building was for sale.

Crow made a note of the contact details on a faded sign they'd not noticed yesterday. It looked like it had been on the market for some time, which Crow was certain was a good thing, even if he still had no idea how Badger felt they could afford it at all.

They tracked down the estate agents that were selling the property to a small, but formal office. Badger had never been to somewhere like this before and sat with his hands firmly on his lap when they were brought inside and put in front of a desk. The people here gave the impression that they thought the boys were too young to be looking into buying something like this, but Crow's confidence managed to get them through any doubt. He was good with people.

A smart woman joined them on the other side of the desk. She put down a file and Badger could see photos of the house Crow desired pinned to the front.

“Are you sure this is the one you want?” she asked, doubtfully, “We have plenty of other properties in Southampton, some of them also near the docks if that's what you're looking for.”

“This is the one for us,” Crow assured her.

“Well, all right,” the estate agent replied, as she spread the papers out onto the desk, “Here's some of the details you'll need to know about it. The building is owned by a businessman from up north and we're dealing with the sale of it on his behalf. It had been a shop once and I believe he bought it with the intention of fixing it up into a little hotel by the sea, but it turned out to be too much hassle to repair and he didn't think it would turn much profit. Look... I probably shouldn't be this honest with you, but you seem like nice kids and you're obvious new to buying property. That place isn't an easy one to start off in. It's been on the market for years and most people only get as far as looking around it before they decide it's not for them. You'd be better off with something else.”

“We probableh should check out the inside first,” Badger whispered to Crow.

“If it's bin on sale for so long then I bet it's cheap,” said Crow, who was still looking at the estate agent.

“The price has been slashed a few times,” she confessed.

“Let's 'ave it then,” challenged Crow.

So she told them the price. Crow struggled to keep his face in the usual indifferent frown it had when dealing with serious matters. To Badger, who'd known him for a long time, the slight disappointment in Crow was visible. The price was lower than they'd find anything else for, but it was still too much for them. At least that was what Crow thought. Badger knew better.

“We'll take it,” Badger stated, as boldly as he could manage.

“We will?” gaped Crow.

“Don't you want to look around first?” checked the estate agent.

“That's fer 'im t' decide,” Badger answered, gesturing to Crow, “But as fer the price, we can manage that.”

“Badge'... are ya sure about this...?” Crow asked.

“Just trust me,” confirmed Badger, “And let me 'andle the payment.”

There was doubt written all over Crow's face, but he figured that Badger knew what he was doing, so turned back to the estate agent and said, “We'll 'ave it then. An' we don't need to look around, I know it's what we want already.”

While the estate agent still seemed to be unsure they were making the right choice, she also wasn't going to argue if it meant selling an unwanted property. So she let them get on with it. There were a lot of papers to sign and other official details that Crow helped Badger deal with, but ultimately it was all done in Badger's name.

And just like that, the building was theirs. It felt unreal. Even if Badger wasn't quite as keen about it as Crow was, it was still something that now belonged to them. And they'd bought it with their own money instead of finding it and relying on no one else knowing it was there, like they had done with the auction hall in Misthallery, or being given it on loan, like had been the case with Umid and Sharpace Rest.

Crow still had an important question though, which he launched into as soon as they were out on the streets once more.

“You've gotta tell me 'ow ya could afford that,” he demanded, “I don't wanna see ya get into trouble ovah this Badge'.”

“I woun't do, promise,” reasoned Badger. Then he decided it was time to let the cat out of the bag; “Look, when we started t' figure out what we were doing in London I opened a bank account. Since then I've saved all the moneh I made from my parts of the auctions. All of it except what we needed t' coveh the essentials living there. And those auctions went pretteh well, even if yer didn't like them. I wanted t' save fer if we eveh realleh needed it.”

Crow was overwhelmed; “But Badge'... That's ya money. I can't take it for somethin' that's a whim like this.”

“Then doun't let it be a whim. Make it count,” Badger insisted, “And besides, t' me, being able t' 'elp yer in any way at all is what mattehs most.”

“I don't deserve ya, I honestly don't,” mumbled Crow, “But I will do it. This time it'll work for both o' us, all right? Now let's go see our castle.”

It went without saying that 'castle' was a stretch of the imagination. Once they got there and unlocked the door it was clear that the inside was in just as bad shape as the exterior led to believe. The boarded up windows made the whole lower level seem dark, but even when they turned on the light there was an eerie feel to the place. The person who wanted to turn it into a hotel must have realised quickly that it was a lost cause and hadn't done much cleaning out at all, by the looks of things. There were old crates littered everywhere, even on a very dusty counter that had an ancient cash register on top. Looking at it positively, at least it meant that they had the bare essentials should they decide to open a shop after all.

The shop front took up much of the lower level, with only a small room behind the counter that seemed to both be used for storage and also had the stairs within it. Stairs that creaked like no stairs had any business doing. Up above they found that there were three more floors and the remains of some furniture from where the last family had lived here, but nothing much. Most of what they found was broken. But every hole in the wall or door with the handle missing only seemed to spur Crow on. The excitement radiated from him and Badger knew that he'd done the right thing to make Crow this happy.

“It's perfect, absolutely perfect,” praised Crow, as he stared around the hall.

“Well, it's got running wateh and electricity, so there's that,” Badger replied, from where he'd been trying one of the taps in the bathroom, “Gan t' take a lotteh work it get it readeh though.”

“That's why it's perfect,” Crow insisted, “We're gonna fix this place up an' make it so it's all ours. We'll make it work on our own, then make our fortune from it.”

“Fortune...?” echoed Badger, as he watched a spider crawl out from where it had been disturbed in the sink. He knew that he'd have to get rid of that little beast before Crow noticed it.

“Fine, per'aps a fortune will take time, but it will get us on our feet an' we need that,” Crow reassessed.

“And we can't call Socket in to 'elp fix this place?” Badger checked.

“I told ya, we've gonna do this on our own steam,” Crow stubbornly stated, “An' besides, we can't pull Socket outta school for somethin' like this.”

“To be honest, I think Socket would jump at the chance t' get 'is 'ands on this,” sighed Badger. Though he realised there wasn't any point in debating this further. Crow had made up his mind about it and that was that. All Badger could hope was that after a few days hard work he might change his mind. He looked back at Crow and asked, “Where do yer want us t' start then?”

Crow motioned for Badger to follow him back downstairs to where they'd left their bags on the shop floor. He pulled one of the larger ones open and started to rummage through it, while Badger watched. What he pulled out was a familiar black cloak and plague-doctor's mask. Then he pointed towards the biggest display window.

“First we're gonna get the boards off that an' shine the glass up nice. Then we're gotta get that mannequin ovah there an' use it to put our friend 'ere on display,” instructed Crow, “That way any o' our othah friends who might come by will know that there's welcomin' faces waitin' for 'em in the Black Raven's Nest.”

“Yer... gan t' call the shop that, aren't yer?” Badger enquired.

“Absolutely,” confirmed Crow, “Could ya evah find o' a bettah name than that?”

“Nah, can't say I can,” Badger chuckled.

That was just like Crow. Coming up with ridiculous names was one of his biggest pleasures in life. But it was something that kind of amused Badger as well. And as much as he might have doubted that anyone they knew would just be wandering around Southampton, it was also just like Crow to leave his arms open for them if they were. In his own way, he cared a lot about his friends.

So displaying the Black Raven was the first task they got to on the long list of making their new home work.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Badger and Crow get to work on fixing up their new shop they receive an unexpected guest and then an equally unexpected letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features, in my humble opinion, the best character in all of PL. But then again I might just be very biased. If you're sharp-eyed then you might have noticed this character made an unnamed cameo much earlier in Grasping Liquid.

The repair work needed for Crow's dream house was nothing to be sniffed at, so both Crow and Badger knew they had to put their noses to the grindstone to get on with it. Not that either of them were complaining. Their only deadline was to get a shop up and running at some point, so for the moment they didn't have to rush while they lived off the excess of Badger's savings. If it meant getting everything right then taking as much time as they needed was a small price to pay.

They'd also spent time getting to know Southampton, which turned out to be a beautiful city. Crow had taken it all in with eager eyes, especially the harbour. Though it turned out what he'd been most interested to know about was where the nearest post office was. Because since he'd gotten that letter writing idea into his head, Crow had begun to focus a lot more on keeping in touch with the others. He wrote to his mum, all their friends in Misthallery, the London Black Ravens, Wren & Socket up in Northumberland and even to Louis, though from what Crow said the scouser had yet to reply. It made him feel better to know they all seemed to be safe and seeing Crow feel better made Badger feel better in turn.

On one quiet day, Crow was sat writing up one of his letters while Badger was inexpertly sanding down one of the many display shelves that they hoped to use. The doorbell rang and the two of them exchanged confused glances before Badger decided to answer it, because he was closest. He timidly pulled it open and peered outside.

“Um... 'ello?”

“Ey up lad, can yer let me talk t' the felleh who put that costume in the window?”

Badger wanted to reply, but he was momentarily taken back with nerves. The man outside was very big and had something of a stern stare about his face. If he wanted information about the Black Raven then it can't have been for a good reason.

“Who wants to know?” Fortunately Crow was there in a flash, though his suspicion soon changed to surprise and then he grinned widely, “...Cor, nevah expected to see ya down 'ere!”

“Do I know yer?” the man asked. He raised an eyebrow at Crow.

“Kinda. In a roundabout way. Come in an' I'll explain,” gestured Crow, “Can I get ya anythin' to drink?”

“Wouldn't mind a brew if yer got one goin',” answered the man, as he edged into the shop.

It took a few minutes to get settled at a work table with the tea, especially since they hadn't been prepared for company. But when Crow introduced the man, Badger was kicking himself that he hadn't recognised him sooner. Though he supposed any prior time that he'd seen him had been in very different circumstances.

“Badge', this 'ere is Alphonse Dalston. Came to the Black Raven auctions back in Mist'allery sometimes,” informed Crow.

“Yer right about that,” Dalston agreed, “And I were well surprised t' see that mask in the window when I got 'ere. Small world, I guess. So anyway, where is the mastehmind be'ind the Black Raven. Must be plannin' summit big, I reckon. To buy this old place.”

Crow's face was the picture of smugness; “Ya talkin' to 'im. Or two o' the Black Ravens anyway?”

“What!” roared Dalston, “Yer mean t' say that all this time it were a couple of kids pullin' the wool oveh me eyes?” For a moment Badger was nervous about how he'd take it, but then Dalston began to laugh heartily; “Yer made so much money offeh me!”

“That we did,” agreed Crow, “We were always 'appy to 'ear ya were in town, Mr. Dalston.”

“Well, I don't regret it. Decorated mostly all me 'ouse with the gems I won at yer auctions. Looks real classy,” Dalston assured them, “If the Black Raven's been some plucky young 'uns all this time then I'm glad that the next generation's got good business sense.”

“Good to know there's no 'ard feelin's,” chimed Crow.

“None at all, though I do 'ave t' ask what the plan is 'ere. Yer see, I did own this place, but I could neveh find the right niche to fix it up fer. When the estate agents told me it 'ad finally sold, I couldn't 'elp but be curious about the sorteh folk who'd want t' give it a try,” Dalston said.

“Then I can let ya know that it is wot it looks like,” answered Crow, as he gestured around, “Me an' Badgah 'ere want to set up a shop. We wanna run the auctions too, o' course, but the first item on the agenda is to get the shop up an' runnin'.”

“That is a grand scheme,” Dalston complimented, “But 'ow long 'ave yer been 'ere fer? Just a few weeks ago I were at one o' yer auctions in Mist'allery.”

“Oh, those 'ave bin goin' on all the time we've bin away,” confessed Crow, “There's a lotta us now. We went down to London to start up a branch there an' that's bin goin' well too, but me an' Badge' wanted to break off an' do our own thing.”

That was basically the nice way to describe what had happened in London, skipping out all of the details about the frictions that had risen between the group there. But technically Crow wasn't lying – the London auctions had gone well and seemed to be continuing to do so, from what the letters Crow had been receiving implied. Also, there was no reason to get into all the details to someone like Dalston. He seemed like a nice enough bloke, though a bit loud for Badger's taste, but the Black Ravens hadn't made their name by telling too many secrets to the customers.

“Glad t' 'ear it! I'm sure I'll 'ave t' check out those London auctions sometime and 'opefully these ones 'ere too, when yer get 'em started up,” praised Dalston.

“We'd be all too 'appy to let ya know when that is,” promised Crow, “But first, could ya let me know a bit about the recent auction ya went to at Mist'allery? My associates there 'ave bin a little sparse on the details an' I can't 'elp but worry, as their boss.”

“Sure, but it looked all reet from what I could see,” Dalston answered, “I think there were a new young lad bein' the Black Raven. Least I didn't recognise the voice anyway, and-”

He was cut off by a frantic knocking at the door. This time Crow got up and went to see who it was, leading another man to the table to see Dalston only a few moments later. This person was stick thin and had a face that Badger's mind unfortunately thought of as looking a bit like a lumpy frying pan. He was panting, evidently having rushed here from somewhere.

“Gonzales, what's the matter?” asked Dalston.

“Mr. Dalston! There was a call for you at the hotel. It seems that Mrs. Ledore... well...” Gonzales trailed off.

Dalston abruptly got to his feet; “What, already? I thought we 'ad be bit more time before... Well, it doesn't matteh. We need t' get back t' Monte d'Or as soon as we can. Lads, I 'ate to rush out like this, but I can't stick around. Thanks fer the brew and I 'ope that next time I'm 'ere it's to attend one o' yer auctions.”

“Can't wait to see ya there, Mr. Dalston,” Crow concluded. Which may have had a little something to do with how much money Dalston was generally known to spend.

The two guests almost made it to the door before Dalston stopped and scratched his head, seeming to have suddenly remembered something.

“Bloomin' 'eck, Gonzales, I can't go back there without some kindeh present,” he announced.

“Do we really have time for that?” asked Gonzales, hopping from one foot to another where he stood. The whole dance he was doing looked comical.

“Yeah, o' course we do!” Dalston boomed, “Yer don't go t' summit as special as this and not bring a present! ...Now that I think about it, this does count as a 'oliday. Ascot will whine if I don't bring presents fer everyone. But one fer the occasion is most important. If we see anythin' else then I suppose we can grab it. Old 'enry probably never gets tired o' paperweights.”

“If it's gifts ya want, then we could 'elp with that,” purred Crow, not one to miss an opportunity.

Dalston turned back to look at him and nodded, “If yer got anythin' then it might be 'andy. We don't 'ave much time t' shop around.”

“The Black Raven is prepared for any occasion,” Crow claimed, “And wot is the occasion we're lookin' for...?”

“...A baby,” answered Dalston, “Some mates o' mine just 'ad a baby. The Ledores – yer might o' 'eard about 'em.”

“I'll say. Who doesn't know about them?” Badger whispered.

Even without being able to read the newspapers and various gossip rags, Badger knew about the Ledores. Or rather, he knew what people said about them. Which was a lot. Most accounts were conflicting and almost all of them suggested scandals. Monte d'Or was a tourist city that gained a lot of notice some years back when someone called the Masked Gentleman had caused a lot of bother there. Apparently that had long since been laid to rest, but the public eye remained on the founders of the city, Mr. and Mrs. Ledore. A third person had come to live with them after that, so the stories said. One Randall Ascot. And since then every magazine had some sort of opinion about the complicated affair that may or may not have been going on between Henry, Angela and Randall. A baby would be big news once word got out.

“Yeah, well Angela's just 'ad a baby and I want t' get a good gift fer it,” Dalston told them, “Mebbe a few presents fer the otheh three as well, though they're less important.”

Crow was up in a flash and hunting through the crates. Admittedly, because they hadn't been there very long, there wasn't a great deal to choose from, but Crow had picked up a few shipments of unwanted stock by getting pally with the workers at the docks. Badger was sure that somewhere in them was a present that'd be suitable for a baby.

“Wot about this?” Crow asked.

He pulled out a stuffed toy weasel wearing a knitted jumper that had balloons on it. The toy looked well-made but was a little... odd. Part of Badger was disappointed that Crow was offering it, as he'd grown fond of the weird plush animal since they'd found it. But a sale was a sale. Assuming that Dalston would take it.

“That's perfect,” replied Dalston, “Bet no one's gettin' the baby anythin' like that.”

“An' for ya friends we got novelty sticks o' rock with Sout'ampton written in the middle. Everyone loves those, right?” added Crow. And Badger knew fine well he'd got those sweets with the intention of sending them to their own friends. Not that anyone in Misthallery would miss a few treats that probably weren't as good as Aunt Taffy's anyway.

“Sure, I'll take 'em,” Dalston said, almost dismissively, “So 'ow much?”

“...Ya know, quality goods like this require a special price,” Crow pointed out.

“Kid, I'll pass five shops that sell sticks o' rock on the way outteh this city,” countered Dalston.

“Yeah, but wot about the cuddly weasel?” Crow reminded.

Dalston sighed, “Fine, let's 'ear yer price.”

“Money doesn't matter, at least not right now,” Crow commented, as much to Badger's surprise as to Dalston's; “What we need is somethin' a bit more useful in the immediate future. I know that ya own a lotta 'otels, Mr. Dalston. Must be doin' work on 'em all the time.”

There was a grin from Dalston; “I see where this is goin'. Honestly, if yer needed my 'elp then yer just 'ad t' ask. Afteh seein' the pluckiness o' you two lads I'd be glad to lend some 'ands towards settin' this place up.”

“Good, 'cause that's exactly wot I'm askin' for,” confirmed Crow, “Just gimme ya details an' I'll let ya know when we need the 'elp. I can see ya in a rush right now though, so I won't keep ya too long aftah that.”

As much as Badger couldn't believe the cheek of Crow, it seemed to have impressed Dalston, who gladly wrote down his phone number before he took the gifts he'd 'bought' and headed off with Gonzales. It was hard not to stare after the strange pair in disbelief as they disappeared down the street.

“Didn't see that coming...” mumbled Badger.

“Gotta take opportunities as they come, Badge',” Crow assured, with the pride of a job well done.

The two of them got back to work after that, with little thought about the Yorkshireman or the Ledore baby. If anything of interest happened there then Badger had no doubt that they'd hear a probably unfaithful account of the events from some magazine.

It was a while later when a postal worker came to the door to drop off some letters for Crow. This wasn't unusual and all of the regulars were getting to know both of their faces from how much they had to stop here. Because sure enough, once Crow had started writing, many of his friends wrote back.

Badger watched idly as Crow sifted through today's letters and noted at how Crow's eye widened to one of them. It must be something interesting. When Crow caught Badger looking he waved the letter at him with a smile.

“This one's from Louis! Looks like 'e's finally written back,” Crow announced.

That was all Badger needed to hear to make him stop working and scramble over. Back in the old days, Louis had been what Badger could almost class as a best friend, the two of them bonding over being fellow northerners who'd come to Misthallery when their dads had gotten jobs in the old factory. Though they were very different, Badger had always gotten on well with Louis and had felt a little sad that they hadn't heard much from him since he'd moved back to Liverpool with his family.

“Says wot ya might expect,” relayed Crow, as he skimmed through the letter, “That 'e's doin' well an' just 'asn't 'ad time to write. Ya know wot Louis's like, I bet 'e's bin out partyin' it up an' wouldn't remembah to write at all if we didn't prompt 'im. But I'm glad it's goin' well.”

“Anything else?” Badger asked.

“Yeah, there's a note at the bottom about 'ow we could go stay with 'im. Almost gonna be a shame to let 'im down,” hummed Crow.

“Why do we 'ave t' let 'im down?” Badger queried, “There's no reason we can't go see 'im.”

“We're far too busy 'ere, Badge'. Got so much to do with the shop an' soon enough I'll need to sort out details with wotevah 'elp Dalston can send,” dismissed Crow.

“Come on, Crow, we both know we can afford t' relax a bit about getting the shop up and running,” Badger argued, “This is our Lozza. We 'aven't seen 'im in donkeys.”

“We're not goin',” stated Crow, without so much as an explanation as to why.

“Yer might not be gan, but mebbe I want t' see 'im,” countered Badger.

“Ya won't go without me,” Crow insisted.

“Mebbe I will,” Badger challenged.

“...Would ya really?”

There was a melancholy look in Crow's eye. Whatever the reason he didn't want to go was it came down to more than just stubbornness. So Badger softened, put a hand on top of Crow's and tried again.

“What's the problem, Crowlo?” he asked.

Crow looked away and quietly answered, “I messed up in London, Badge'. Yeah, I know we don't like to talk about it, but I did. An' that showed me that startin' a new life... it's not somethin' I can do by relyin' on my cockiness alone. I don't wanna let anyone down again. Least o' all you.”

“But yer not letting me down by taking a break,” assured Badger, giving Crow a warm smile.

“Maybe not, but I'm still scared to leave this before we get a foot in the door. This time we need to make it work. Then I can think about goin' anywhere else. Even to visit friends,” Crow said.

“Yer realleh scared of leaving, eh?” checked Badger.

Part of him knew how Crow felt, since he'd been there himself all too many times. It wasn't that long since it had been Badger who spent each day worrying that Crow would leave Misthallery. While by contrast Crow couldn't wait to get out into the world. Oh, how the tides had turned...

“I am. I'll be honest,” Crow confessed, “An' I 'afta admit that I'm surprised ya not agreein' with me. I thought ya wouldn't be up to somethin' like this.”

“Neitheh did I,” chuckled Badger, “Reet now I'm surprising meself even. But it's been so long since I've seen Louis – since I've seen a lotteh our friends, fer that matteh. I want t' do this, Crowlo. I want t' see 'im again.”

“Then maybe ya should,” Crow suggested.

“With yer?”

“No. Without me. I'm sorry, Badge', but I'm stayin' right 'ere for now.”

The inner Badgers struggled over this one. Of course he was always reluctant to leave Crow's side, but part of him realised in that moment that he wasn't scared to do so any more. That he could do this, even go half way up the country on his own, and it didn't make him feel the fear that he would have once felt. Ideally it would have been nice for them both to go, but if Crow genuinely didn't think he could then...

“...Write back to Louis and tell 'im I'll be coming,” Badger told Crow.

“That's a good choice, Badge',” complimented Crow.

And that was that. It was weird. Part of Badger had expected an argument from Crow, that maybe he wouldn't think Badger was up to doing something like this on his own. But it turned out that Crow had every confidence in him and that made Badger feel good about himself. If Crow believed that he could do this then he could definitely do it. No doubt about that. As much as it would be a shame that they couldn't both go, the excitement of seeing an old friend again outweighed any negative emotions. On top of that, Badger wasn't too worried about leaving Crow with all the work – Crow loved work and it sounded as if he might soon have a hand with it anyway.

So Badger spent the rest of the day distracted from what he was doing by the warm, fuzzy feeling that he'd soon be setting out on his very own travels for the first time. And that was a big step for him.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Badger heads to Liverpool to see Louis he ends up having more worries created than put to rest. And on top of that it doesn't look as if his travels are going to end here either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we've got to Louis again I think this is a good enough time to share a bit of useless trivia about something from an early draft of this fic that ended up being scrapped. Initially, when I'd planned for Louis to move to Liverpool, Roddy was eventually going to join him there. But then Roddy father theory came about and I thought that was much more interesting, so I changed my plans to instead have Roddy move to London to be reunited with Hardy. All things considered, I think this worked out for the best. Not just for Roddy and the London Black Ravens (who very much need him there!), but also because it opened up some new plans for Louis, that are hinted at in this chapter.

Crow had written a letter back to Louis about Badger's plans to visit him, but Badger didn't wait for the reply to start getting ready to go. Knowing Louis, it could be months before their friend remembered to write back and Badger didn't want to wait that long. So he packed and packed again, until he'd repacked so many times that he decided anything he didn't remember wasn't worth taking. He should only be gone for a few days anyway.

Then one morning he decided it was time to head off. Crow waited for him by the door, shifting about awkwardly.

“I've called ahead, so 'e knows ya comin' today,” Crow informed, “Wouldn't want ya to get off at Livahpool an' not 'ave someone there to greet ya. If 'e's not at the station then I'll clip 'im 'around the ears when I next see 'im.”

Badger laughed, “There's nowt to worreh about, Crowlo. I'm sure that I'll find 'im.”

“Right. Guess I'm just fussin'...” mumbled Crow, “Are ya sure ya don't want me to walk ya to the station? Those workahs that Dalston's sendin' probably won't be 'ere until this aftahnoon, so I've got time.”

“No, I've gotteh do this on me own. I know it sounds weird, but I've decided,” Badger firmly replied.

“It doesn't sound weird at all. I kinda get where ya comin' from,” admitted Crow, “Though it doesn't stop me from worryin' all the same.”

“Now yer know 'ow I usually feel,” Badger joked, cruelly. But then he softened and added, “It's ganna be ah'reet. I'll get there no problem and soon yer'll 'ave so much work t' do around 'ere that yer won't even think of me.”

“I'll always think o' ya,” insisted Crow. That made Badger feel wibbly inside, but before he could say anything embarrassing, Crow went on; “So... this is goodbye for now then?”

“Just fer now. I'll be back before yer know it,” Badger promised.

With that, Crow reached forward and gave him a hug. It was an odd sensation. The last time that Crow had hugged Badger was when he'd broken down back in London. Circumstances had been very different then though and this hug felt much nicer. Badger carefully put his arms around Crow as well and the two of them stayed there like that for a bit longer than they maybe should have done before Crow pulled away.

“...See ya soon, Badge',” he whispered.

“Yeah... yer will,” concluded Badger.

He gave Crow one final nod before setting out. In his usual Badger fashion he didn't even make it all the way down the road before he turned to look back. Crow was still watching him, so Badger just waved at him once more then hurried on before he could change his mind.

The station was moderately busy, but not particularly overwhelming. Definitely not compared to how busy the stations in London had been. It didn't take Badger long to bumble his way through buying a ticket and being directed onto the right train. Perhaps he could have tried his luck with sneaking on without a ticket, like Crow would normally have done, but he both didn't feel particularly lucky today and didn't need anything else to test his nerves. A safe journey to Liverpool without the risk of being chucked off somewhere was exactly what Badger wanted.

And it turned out he got just that. It was a long journey and, without anyone to talk to, a very boring one. Part of Badger finally wished that he'd learned how to read, just so he had something to do to pass the time. Maybe when he got back home and everything was a bit more settled he could ask Crow about teaching him.

But eventually the train pulled into the station at Liverpool. The announcement of their arrival jolted Badger out of his daydreams and he hurried to grab his bags and get off before the train pulled away to its next destination.

As he stood on the platform, suddenly the panic that he'd done such a good job keeping away came back to settle in his stomach. Sure, he'd said to Crow that he'd be all right, even if Louis wasn't there, but now that he was here Badger realised that he was alone in a city he'd never been to with little idea of where Louis even lived. If he got lost then he had no clue what he'd do!

He bumbled off across the platform, trying to formulate a plan in his head. If he couldn't find Louis here in a few minutes then he could look around a bit outside, maybe ask someone if they'd seen anyone like him. Louis was a pretty unique-looking guy, after all. And if nothing came of it in about an hour then he'd find a payphone to call Crow and either get Crow to call Louis or arrange a trip back home.

Just as he was starting to settle himself into knowing what he was going to do, he noticed a large mess of black hair bobbing above most of the crowd.

“...Louis?”

“Badger! There you are, mate!”

The two of them rushed to meet each other. They were both taller than many of the people they were passing, so it didn't take much to convince the crowd to give them some space. And they must have looked like quite a pair. Louis was always the only Black Raven who could match Badger's height, but in contrast to how slim Badger had become over the years, Louis had panned out nicely. Back in Misthallery he used to joke that all the vegetables kept him in good shape, but a guilty part of Badger didn't think that Louis looks that great right now. It wasn't that he physically looked all that different to how Badger remembered him being, but something about him seemed a bit more... haggard? Exhausted? Badger wasn't good with words. He could see the deep bags beneath Louis's red-rimmed eyes and his shirt wasn't doing anything to hide all of the stains across it.

“Yer... yer ah'reet?” Badger asked, before he could stop himself.

Louis gave him a confused stare, clearly not understanding what he was getting at, then replied, “Yeah, doing fine. I was a bit surprised to hear that you were coming but not Crow, like. The Badger I remembered would deffo be too scared to head off on his own.”

“I've changed a lot, Lozza,” Badger proudly proclaimed, “Let's get back t' yer place so I can fill yer in on everything.”

“Ah. We're not going to my place,” mumbled Louis.

“What? 'ow come?” questioned Badger.

“Just 'cause my house is a bit of a tip,” Louis said, “Besides, we'd have to squeeze in with Mam and Dad, which wouldn't be a lotta fun, eh? So I've booked us into a hotel for the night. That'll be much better, yeah?”

“I guess...” murmured Badger. Though he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this situation than Louis was letting on.

But for the moment, he let Louis lead them to where they'd be staying. As they walked through the city streets, Louis pointed out different places and talked animately about what they were like. At more than one venue Louis would say that they had to go there before Badger left, though secretly Badger wasn't too keen on the idea of clubbing. He liked Louis, but the two of them did have very different ideas about how to have a good time. All the same, seeing Louis this eager about Liverpool put some of his worries to rest. If nothing else, at least he could say that Louis had settled back into his old neck of the woods without much trouble.

The hotel they were staying at turned out to be quite nice as well. It wasn't too posh, but also a step up from what Badger was expecting. The only downside was that it seemed to be one of those newer places where all the rooms were exactly the same as each other. It shouldn't be a big deal, but part of Badger always found that a bit creepy. He preferred hotels like the Weathered Duke's, where each room was different and full of character.

However, all that this place needed to be was somewhere to rest their heads, so as soon as they were inside and put their bags down he turned to Louis.

“Tell me everything,” he demanded.

“Nah, you go first,” insisted Louis.

“Why do I 'ave t' go first?” whined Badger.

“It's only fair, like,” Louis stated, “You're the one that's been everywhere and seen everyone. I've been stuck in the dark since I left and I hardly know anything about what's gone on other than what Crowlo's said in his letters.”

“Then who's fault is that fer not keeping in touch?” scolded Badger, “But ah'reet, I'll fill yer in. Fergive me if I go oveh summit Crow's already said though, I dunno what 'e's written t' everyone.”

“That's fine, I don't mind,” assured Louis. He gestured for Badger to go on as he took a seat on one of the beds.

“Okay, so afteh yer left things got a little weird at the auctions,” Badger started, as he tried to whirl his memory back to that time, “Crow wanted t' kick it up a gear, so we made a lotteh changes. We brought Tony back in on it and Arianna came, too. Things went pretteh well, but Crow started t' get idle and wanted to try 'is luck elsewhere. We worked 'ard to prove that we could manage without 'im. It were a bit of a stretch, but eventually Crow, Scraps and me decided t' go.”

“I knew you'd never leave Crow,” Louis laughed.

Badger ignored the hot flush in his cheeks and continued, “Yeah, well we went t' London. Roddeh did as well, but we didn't know that 'til lateh. Found 'is dad and everything. But anyway, we started up the auctions in London along with some friends Crow 'ad down there from 'is first visit. Onleh... it didn't go as planned. I wouldn't say it went badly or owt, Scraps and Roddeh seemed to like it, but me and Crow couldn't cut it there.”

“He's told me that much in his letters,” admitted Louis, “Says you and him are trying to start up a shop in Southampton. How'd you end up there of all places?”

“It just kindeh 'appened,” said Badger, with a shrug, “But that brings us up t' now. Me and Crow are starting anew, Roddy and Scraps are in London and as far as I know, mostleh everyone else is still in Mist'allereh. Though I 'aven't spoke t' Wren and Socket in a while. Crow says they're doing good from what the lettehs imply. It'd be nice t' see them again though.”

“Then why don't you go?” Louis asked.

“One visit at a time!” dismissed Badger, “It's taken all me nerves just t' get up 'ere and see yer.”

“Yeah, which means you're already, like, half way there,” Louis pointed out, “It'd be easier to go from here to Northumberland than to go back down south then up again.”

“I can't just do that,” argued Badger, “It'd mean leaving Crow fer way too long.”

“Well, if you're that worried about him, then it's probably not a good idea. I just think that if I were you then I'd want to get out onto the road and see as many of my mates as I could while I had the chance,” Louis said.

“Then why doun't yer then?” challenged Badger, “We've all been worried about yer.”

“I've got... too much tied up here right now,” Louis evaded, “But you don't. And if you wait too long then you will be tied up in that shop and not able to escape. You'll deffo regret it if you don't do this while you have the chance.”

“I'll think about it,” Badger concluded, “Now tell me what's gan on with yer good self, Lozza?”

“Not much. Wanna go out now?” asked Louis. He suddenly pulled himself up from where he was sat.

“Leave it off, I can tell summit's up!” Badger shot, not budging from where he was sat.

Louis growled. He actually growled. “This is why I didn't call you all sooner. You always pry in and need to know everything, especially Crow.”

“We onleh do it because we care...” mumbled Badger. It was hard to ignore how much Louis's accusation had stung him.

“I know that! Really, I do! But... the world isn't quite that simple,” sighed Louis, “Look, I know that Crow wants us to be, like, his precious crew forever and he wants to look out for us, but it can't always be that easy. We all have our own lives and sometimes we have problems that we don't wanna drag anyone else into.”

“We want t' 'elp. That's why we stick our noses in. Especially Crow, yeah,” Badger insisted.

“Then... be there when I ask you to, but don't pry until then,” Louis concluded, “I'm not an idiot, I know when I need help, like. But right now it's not worth bringing anyone else into.”

“Will it get that far? Whateveh it is,” checked Badger.

There was an unsettling pause before Louis replied, “I dunno yet. But hopefully not.”

“And I can't get yer t' tell me any more than yer 'ave?” Badger pressed.

“Nah. You can't,” confirmed Louis, “But let's not fret over this. I wanted to have a good time with my best mate Badger, not get all worked up about stuff. Can we... just go out and have a good time?”

He looked desperate at this point. Even Badger's nervousness at being surrounded by strangers in unfamiliar places couldn't deny him this.

“Yeah, let's go then,” agreed Badger.

With that, he got up and the two of them left the hotel to explore the city some more. It turned out not to be as bad as Badger was expecting. Most likely Louis could tell he was nervous and took them to very tame bars that were easy to leave if Badger got uncomfortable. And it seemed that wherever they went there was someone who'd know Louis and want to talk to him. So whatever his problem was it couldn't have anything to do with his social life.

They trawled from one place to the next until it got dark enough for Badger's confidence to finally give up and suggest they go back to the hotel.

“Nah, nah, I wanna show you the Albert Dock first, like,” Louis slurred. Part of Badger was suspicious that he'd had more than a few shandies tonight, but then Louis was the oldest one of the group and if Badger was eighteen then Louis was well within okay to have a drink or two. Even if it did put Badger a little on edge.

So he humoured Louis and walked with him all the way down to the docks, which were beautiful. As he looked out on the ships and water Badger instantly found himself thinking of Southampton and how Crow might be getting on there.

They stood there together for a while, with Louis resting his arms on the railing. Badger was just about to suggest going back to the hotel once more when Louis spoke up again.

“You should do it, you know? You should deffo go visit Wren and Socket... and, like, all the others,” he whispered.

“This again?” mumbled Badger, a bit tactlessly.

Louis turned to look at him. His glasses had misted up something awful, but behind them Badger could just make out the sadness in his eyes. And he felt very bad for him.

“You should do it while you have the chance,” Louis pressed.

“Ah'reet, I'll sort summit out tomorreh,” promised Badger, “And will yer tell me what's wrong with yer?”

Louis hiccuped; “...N-no.”

“Yer so difficult, Lozza...” Badger grumbled.

But he knew that was that. Even if Louis might seem light-hearted most of the time, if he didn't want to do something then he wouldn't move on the matter. Badger wasn't going to find out what was wrong with him, at least not this time. But he could pick apart that whatever it was, it was stopping Louis from being free to go see the others. And if doing that instead of him was the one thing Badger could do for Louis, then he wasn't going to turn away from it. Even if he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to explain that to Crow.

The two of them made their way back to the hotel after that and it didn't take much convincing for Louis to slump onto his bed and fall into a deep sleep. Part of Badger wanted to go down to the reception and ask if he could use their phone, but Crow would probably already be long in bed by now and it wasn't worth waking him up to worry him. Everything could be sorted out in the morning...

***

It surprised Badger to find that Louis had woken up before he did the next day. It did not surprise Badger to find that this was because Louis had his face down in the toilet, noisily throwing up.

“If yer make too much mess they'll charge us extra,” Badger warned, from where he was stood in the doorway.

“It all went in the bowl...” moaned Louis, as he pulled the handle.

“That's more than I need t' know,” Badger gagged.

“I'm fine, thanks for asking,” Louis muttered, getting himself back onto his feet. It took him a moment to steady himself, but he seemed otherwise all right.

“Do yer remembeh much of last night?” checked Badger. He kind of hoped that Louis had forgotten their conversation from out on the docks.

“Yeah, I remember that I need to phone Crow to tell him, like, what's what before you lose your bottle and back out,” Louis answered.

“Usualleh I'd argue with yer, but it'll be too funneh to 'ear yer 'ave a go at Crow,” Badger admitted.

With that, the two of them tidied themselves up (which took a lot longer for Louis than it did for Badger), gathered their belongings and went downstairs ready to check out. Because they were quite prompt out of the room, the receptionist had no problems with letting them use the phone. Badger stepped back to allow Louis to do the talking.

“Hey there Crowlo, it's your old mate, Louis,” hummed Louis, so breezily that you couldn't even tell he was hungover, “Just letting you know that Badger made it here safe and sound. ...Uh-huh. Oh yeah! We've had a great time, like! ...Yeah. ...That's good, yeah. Look, um, there's one other thing. Poor Badger says he feels cooped up in a cage right now. He wants to be free to fly.”

Badger grabbed the phone from Louis; “I neveh said that!”

“...Badge'? Wot is 'e talkin' about?” Crow's voice crackled from the other end. Obviously he was confused.

But now Louis snatched the phone back to carry on; “Look, Crow. We've been talking, like, and it sounds as if Badger hasn't seen the others for ages. And I bet you haven't either. So I said to him, maybe it'd be a good idea if he goes to visit them while he's on the move anyway. Could be a good way to check up on them, yeah?”

It was clear what Louis was doing now, appealing to Crow's mother hen nature to make sure that all the others would be all right. There was no doubt that Crow would agree to this. Or at least that was what Badger thought up until Louis twisted his face and turned back to him.

“He wants to talk to you,” Louis informed.

“Yeah?” prompted Badger, once he'd got the phone back.

“Are ya sure about this, Badge'? I know that travellin' makes ya nervous,” Crow checked.

“I... I reckon I am,” Badger replied, even if he wasn't actually sure, “Louis's right that I might not get anotheh chance like this soon.”

“Then I think ya should do it,” Crow said, “An' don't worry about me. The workahs turned up right on time yestahday an' I've bin crackin' the whip evah since. Kinda nice to 'ave some new faces to boss around. Though I 'ope that one guy was jokin' when 'e said 'e might go to 'is union...”

“Sounds like yer pushing 'em too 'ard, Crow!” Badger warned, though he was laughing when he said it, “But I'm glad yer fine with this.”

“More than fine. So where's the first stop gonna be?” checked Crow.

“Probableh Wren and Socket, since they're closeh,” Badger answered, “Wouldn't make sense t' go from 'ere, down to Mist'allereh and then all the way back up t' Nort'umbehland.”

“That does sound like the best plan,” agreed Crow, “Just make sure ya ring ahead to let 'em know ya comin'.”

“Will do. And Crow...? Take care, yeah?”

“Only if you do, Badge'.”

There was a lump in Badger's throat after that. He passed the phone back to Louis and let him talk to Crow for a while as he steadied himself. Being away from Crow for a suddenly unknown length of time made him nervous, but he tried to focus on how nice it would be to see the others again. Louis was right about that.

It didn't take long until Louis also bid Crow goodbye and hung up on him. Then he turned back to Badger. Perhaps Badger's worries were more apparent than he'd hoped they'd be, because Louis then said that he'd call Wren and Socket for him. Maybe that was a good idea though, since Louis did seem to be the one so desperate to check on the others. At least this way he'd get to hear another familiar voice.

Badger listened as Louis called. It went about as amusingly as he'd expected it would.

“Hello, is that little Socket? ...Yeah, it's Louis! Remember me? Nice to hear from you, mate! ...Look, can you put Wren on the line? I'd much rather talk to her. ...Nah, I'm only kidding! No need to get annoyed,” Louis chuckled. Socket must have been yelling, because he briefly held the receiver away from his ear before going back to carry on, “...So she's not there? And your mam neither? ...I see. That's a shame. 'Cause I've got Badger here and he wants to come visit you all.” After another pause Louis looked at Badger and said, “He wants to talk to you.”

“Socket...?” Badger whispered, taking the phone from Louis.

“Carrotnose! It's really you!” Socket blared, “Is it true then? Do ya wanna come stay with us?”

“If that ah'reet with yer family,” replied Badger.

“Well, they're not 'ere right now. Mum's workin' an' Wrenny's off at school, but I know they'd be fine with it. Is Crow coming with ya?” Socket said. All the words were coming out of his mouth in such a hurry that it was a wonder they didn't trip over each other.

“Nah, Crow's not 'ere right now, I'm in Livehpool with Lozza,” Badger told him, “But yer realleh should check with yer mam before I turn up out the blue. And if Wren's in school then why aren't yer with 'er?”

“Don't get all borin' like they do,” huffed Socket, “If I say ya can come over then ya can.”

“This is serious, Socket,” Badger pressed.

“I am serious. Come on, Carrotnose! It'll be great to see ya again without moody Crow an' Wren gettin' all annoyed about their crushes on each other,” Socket went on. Even now he seemed unable to accept that poor Wren's feelings for Crow went one way only, “I wanna hang out like we used to.”

It was difficult to say no to Socket.

“Fine, but you've gotteh tell 'em when yer can and if they doun't like it then I'll spend the aftehnoon with yer and then go back down south,” reasoned Badger.

“They won't mind, everyone likes ya, Badger. But okay, I'll let Mum know when she gets back for lunch,” Socket vowed, “So 'urry up an' get 'ere, okay?”

“I will, I promise,” Badger laughed.

With that, Socket hung up before Louis even had a chance to talk to him again. But neither of them were surprised. Before Tony came along, Socket had always been the youngest Black Raven and was kind of a whirlwind in his actions. No doubt he was now off getting the place ready for when Badger got there. Hopefully he would remember to tell someone about it as well.

After a quick breakfast on the way, Badger decided that he'd be best sticking to the train for the rest of the journey, since it'd be the fastest way there. So him and Louis went back to the station before they parted ways.

“Doesn't feel like you've been here five minutes, but I guess that's just how it goes, like,” mumbled Louis, once they were on the platform.

“Mebbe I'll stay fer longeh next time, if I'm lucky,” Badger soothed, “And seriously Lozza, if summit does go badleh wrong then our doors always open fer yer down in Sout'ampton. We're yer friends and we want t' 'elp.”

“Thanks, I'll remember that. Looks like this is your train though,” Louis pointed out.

It annoyed Badger that Louis was being so dismissive when there was something clearly wrong here, but he was right that the train was arriving and if he stayed to argue his point any further he'd miss it. And it would be wrong to make Socket wait too much, lest he worry or think Badger was pulling his leg by saying he'd visit.

Badger climbed onto the step of a carriage then shouted back to Louis, “Call us!”

“I will!” Louis yelled.

After that Badger was shoved onto the train by the other passengers and didn't get another chance to say anything to Louis. As he found his seat and waved to Louis out the window, he hoped that his message had gotten through the wall his friend seemed to have built up around himself.

The train then pulled away and Louis's curly mop of hair disappeared from view. The voice of doom inside Badger's head planted the idea that he would not be seeing his friend again for quite sometime after this. Badger pressed his eyes shut and hoped it was wrong.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next stop on Badger's journey is to see Wren and Socket. Although he arrives to find that there's been some serious disagreements between the siblings since the last time he saw them. Still, surely asking Marilyn for help is always an option.

As the train made its way up north, Badger's mind left him with little to do except worry. Which wasn't surprising, given how ominous Louis had seemed the whole time he'd been in Liverpool. Now that Badger had time to think about it, maybe he should have pressed going to the house more. He hadn't asked much about what Louis's parents were doing or even if Mr. Shackwell had recovered from his spending addiction. Perhaps the problem could lie with his family, which was why Louis had kept Badger away from them.

On the other hand, it might not have anything to do with them at all. Something about Louis always gave off the vibe that he could fall into the wrong crowd if he was given the chance. Misthallery had been so small and the market was so inclusive that there weren't many crowds Louis could have fallen into other than the Black Ravens back then. But Liverpool was a big city. There were so many people who could cause problems for Louis...

Eventually Badger tried to force himself to accept there was nothing he could do for Louis right now and that most of his worries were currently baseless. Hopefully they'd turn out to be wild stories that his head had created and whatever was bothering Louis would clear itself up in time.

Though as soon as he got Louis off his mind, Badger just launched into thinking about Crow. He knew that Crow had sounded all right when he'd talked to him on the phone, but Louis and Badger had kind of just dropped the whole idea of Badger travelling onto his lap. He hadn't had much chance to object. So maybe he wasn't actually so sure about the whole thing. And who could say how he was really holding up with the help that Dalston had sent? After all, Crow was the best actor that Badger knew. He was an expert of coming across as if he was fine when actually he was struggling inside.

Many different worries bounced back and forth in Badger's head. By the time he reached his stop he was thoroughly miserable. That matter wasn't helped when he got off the train and remembered that the village Wren and Socket lived in was actually many miles away from the one that the train stopped in. These rural areas could be a nightmare.

To top everything off, it seemed that either Socket hadn't managed to tell his family about Badger's visit or else they just didn't have the time to come and get him, because there was no one there waiting for him at the train station.

Badger knew there was no point in grumbling though. So he just headed up the hill and went on his way. It turned out not to be so bad after all. Although Badger had never tried hitch-hiking before, a kindly old farmer's wife gave him a lift in the back a trailer attached to her car for most of the way. Once he got to Chillingham, Badger simply jumped off and thanked her, then made his way to the house.

Phant found him before anyone else did. The dog shot over to Badger like a hairy, white comet and jumped up against his chest.

“Leave it off, Phant!” Badger laughed.

Though the two people he'd came to see soon rushed over after Phant. Wren gently but firmly pulled her away from Badger. Not that it stopped Phant from barking noisily and turning her head from one person to the next in excitement.

“Nice to see you made it, Badger,” Wren greeted, “Sorry we couldn't come down to the station to get you. We were going to go now, since Mum's finished work, but we had no way of calling to tell you.”

“Nah, it's fine,” Badger dismissed, “So 'ow are the two of yer getting on?”

“We're doin' great! Can't ya tell?” Socket boasted.

He puffed out his little chest and Badger stepped back to take a look at them. Socket had grown slightly since the last time Badger had seen him, he'd possibly caught up with Crow, but that wasn't saying much. Ultimately he was still very small though. And just like he would have been back in Misthallery, Socket was proudly wearing the scruffiest clothes he could find, which were entirely covered in oil stains. A dirty rag stuck out of his pocket, suggesting that he'd been working on some project right before coming out here.

As for Wren, she couldn't look like more of a contrast in her smart uniform. It was a different one to what Badger remembered the siblings wearing the first time he'd come up here, but it had been well over a year since then, so perhaps Wren had moved to a different school. The black blazer of this uniform suited her a lot.

It seemed like both of them had been working hard, but in very different fields.

“Does look like yer doing well,” Badger complimented.

“I wish I could say the same, but ya look like a proper scruff, Carrotnose,” teased Socket.

“As if you're one to talk!” scoffed Wren, “Standing around dressed like that.”

“So wot if I'm dressed like this? Just means I'm a 'ardworkin' member o' society an' Badger can tell that, can't ya?” challenged Socket.

“I'm sure yer both work 'ard,” Badger tried to soothe.

“See? Badger can tell wot I do is worth it,” Socket stated.

That felt like a bit of an unfair claim to Badger, given that he actually had no idea what it was that Socket did. He could take a guess, but that was about it. And Badger's intuition told him that there was more to this situation than his guesswork could tell him about it.

“Let's just get inside,” Wren dismissed, “Better let Mum know that she won't have to go pick Badger up before she starts the car.”

Socket rushed off to do that, with Phant following along at his heels. With them gone, Wren helped Badger carry his bags into the house. She stayed silent all the while and at one point Badger would have done as well, because he didn't like to bother people if they seemed not to want to talk. But after everything he'd been through with Crow, Badger was starting to learn that where were times when he needed to speak up.

“So what were that Socket were gan on about?” he asked, once they'd got the bags up to the siblings' shared bedroom.

“Take a look around you and guess,” Wren sighed.

Badger took in the room. Since his last visit here the contents had... progressed. That was the nicest word he could think of to describe it. All around were scattered parts of half-finished projects, laid out on scraps of newspaper. There were diagrams all over the floor and various tools littered between them. The only exception was Wren's corner of the room, which had been kept meticulously free of Socket's influence. It looked comically clear compared to everywhere else, with only a bed, a packed bookshelf and a desk that had various workbooks left out for study.

All in all, it was admittedly what Badger had expected the room to look like after the two of them had been there for long enough.

“Doun't look that bad t' me,” he confessed, “Just looks like you and Socket.”

“That's just it though,” Wren said, “This place was supposed to be our fresh start. That was why we wanted to stay here instead of going back with the rest of you.”

“But a fresh start doun't mean yer 'ave t' drop everything yer good at. Weren't the school idea about getting the qualifications yer need t' do it all propeh?” asked Badger.

This was where Wren's face fell another notch.

“...Socket hasn't been to school for weeks,” she told him, “And whenever he does go he usually just ends up arguing with the teachers and storming out again.”

“But yer said that the school noticed 'is talents! What about that metalwork class 'e was put on?” Badger checked.

“The thing is... Socket is very talented and the school could see that. They saw it about both of us. And they did everything they could to give us the chances we needed,” Wren explained, “I went along with it. And I'm doing the best I can. My grades are good and I'm predicted to do well in my exams. But Socket... Well, just look at this place. I'm not saying he isn't amazing, he's probably even a genius. It's just that he doesn't have the focus. When he starts on a new project he'll throw himself into it with all his heart, but then he'll think of five other new projects and want to do them instead, leaving the first one unfinished. Which is exactly what he did with school. At first it was fun for him to use tools that he didn't have at home, but then he kept getting annoyed when the teachers wouldn't just let him do whatever he wanted.” Here Wren looked away, before she added, “...I'm sorry for dumping all this on you, Badger. You just got here.”

“Nah, it's ah'reet,” Badger assured her, “I'd much ratheh yer tell me about this stuff then leave me in the dark. That way I might be able t' 'elp.”

He thought back to Louis and how the scouser had refused to open up to him at all. If Wren was trusting him with this then he was determined to do something about it.

“Thanks, I appreciate you saying so,” replied Wren. She looked back at him now, “But I'm not sure what anyone could do for Socket. Whenever we try to reason with him he just gets angry and goes to shut himself in the shed.”

Badger thought for a moment and then said, “Do yer still write to Marilyn?”

“Oh yes, all the time,” Wren answered, “But there isn't much she can do from Misthallery except offer advice and she's so busy with the Black Ravens these days that I don't want to bother her.”

“Let me think on it,” Badger offered, “I were planning t' go there afteh staying 'ere fer a few days. So mebbe I can work summit out.”

“I hope so,” Wren concluded.

There wasn't much of a chance to talk about it after that, since Socket came upstairs to join them. Just like last time, he had so much he wanted to show Badger. The difference being that now his excitement wasn't focused on the different villages, the rare cows or the apparently haunted castle, but instead were on all of the different inventions he'd been working on. He gave Badger a full tour of everything in the room, though much of what he said went over Badger's head. While they did this, Wren excused herself, saying that she needed to revise for her exams, and sat at the desk, scribbling away in a notebook.

After a while Socket led Badger towards the door.

“There's even better stuff in the shed! I need to show ya that,” he informed.

Badger followed him out of the room. He took one last look at Wren before he left, but it seemed that she was too deep into her studies to hear them, so he left her to it.

Once they were inside the shed, Socket shut the door and turned on a light that was hanging from the roof. It looked as if he'd wired it there himself, which wouldn't surprise Badger, knowing Socket. And it illuminated all of the other inventions in the shed, which Badger assumed he'd be getting a full talk about in a moment.

However, instead of reeling off facts, Socket suddenly looked very solemn and put his hands behind his back.

“Well, aren't ya gonna say somethin' about it?” he challenged.

“About yer inventions? They look... eh, nice?” Badger offered, completely lost.

“Not about them! I mean about Wrenny!” corrected Socket. He shot his hands up into the air in a dramatic fashion.

“She looks ah'reet t' me,” Badger replied, now more confused than ever.

He hoped that Socket hadn't got the idea that Badger fancied Wren into his head. Once Socket decided upon an area of gossip it could be hard to shift him on the matter. Though fortunately for Badger it seemed that wasn't what was concerning him right now.

“Couldn't ya see it up in the room? All she ever does is study, study, study! She only stops to sometimes eat an' sleep, then she goes to that horrid school an' studies there. It's no life for someone our age, Badger...” Socket ended his speech with a heavy sigh.

“Wren says she's got exams coming up though,” reasoned Badger, “It makes sense that she'd studeh fer 'em now.”

“Yeah, but they're not until June or wotever an' Wrenny's brain might've exploded by then!” cried Socket. He waved his arms out in demonstration of an explosion.

“That woun't 'appen,” Badger assured.

“Ugh... I should 'ave know ya'd take Wren an' Mum's side,” spat Socket, “But I just don't get it, Carrotnose. It's gotta be bad to force yaself to keep workin' on borin' things until ya 'ead pops off. I really worry 'bout 'er... But no one listens...”

“She worrehs about yer, too,” Badger promised.

“I guess. But she's got no reason to worry 'bout me. I'm gonna do really well even without some stupid degree or wotever it is she's gonna get,” huffed Socket.

Badger knelt down a little and put his hand on Socket's shoulder. That made the little mechanic shut up and stare at him.

“Leave it with me. I'll figure summit out,” Badger concluded.

Later, he wished that he had any idea what he was going to do for either of the siblings. Especially since they were both worried about each other for the opposite reasons. And it was hard to say who was right in this situation. They both had good points and picking a side didn't seem fair.

For the second time that day, Badger wished that he could talk to Marilyn about the matter. But then he realised that there was nothing stopping him from doing exactly that. He needed to call her anyway to sort out his visit to Misthallery, so might as well get two birds with one stone and ask her advice on this matter as well.

He made an excuse to pop out sometime in the evening, saying that he wouldn't be too long. Of course he probably could have called Marilyn from the Turner family's phone, but there was too much risk of being overheard, so instead he went to a payphone and shoved in all the loose change he had in his pocket. Then he dialled Marilyn's home, feeling glad that for all he was terrible with words, he could remember numbers like nobody's business.

“Hello?”

It was Marilyn. Badger breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mal, 'ey there! It's Badgeh,” he said.

“Really? It's great to hear from you after so long,” she gasped.

“Yeah, but yer woun't believe where I am. I'm onleh up at Chilling'am staying with Wren and Socket,” he replied.

“You're right, I wasn't expecting that. Especially not since you and Crow were sorting out your shop last time I heard from him,” Marilyn said, “Is he with you, too?”

“Nah, I came on me own,” answered Badger, “Been doing a bit of a trip around the country, checking in on Black Ravens. I just went from seeing Louis t' where I am now and I were planning on coming to visit the rest of yers next, which is what I called t' ask about. But also there's summit else as well.”

“We'll have to do a bit of planning around it if you are coming to visit,” Marilyn hummed. She sounded distracted, but went on, “Before that though, what else did you want to talk about?”

“It's Wren and Socket. They're both fretting about each otheh oveh this school thing,” explained Badger, “Wren thinks that Socket isn't sticking in at school and it's gan t' cause 'im trouble if 'e can't find 'is focus. And Socket thinks that Wren is throwing 'erself too 'ard into 'er studies and she's gan t' burn out oveh it.”

“Wren has written to me about Socket,” Marilyn admitted, “I didn't know the worries went both ways though. Honestly, it sounds as if they're both right to worry about each other.”

“So I should tell 'em t' find some 'appy medium between the two?” Badger checked.

“No, not at all. That does work for some people, but other people... I guess they function differently,” claimed Marilyn. It sounded as if she was struggling to put into words what she meant, which was unusual for her; “Both Wren and Socket are very similar in that when they want to do something they throw their whole selves into it. But the difference is that Wren will solely focus on one thing for as long as she needs to until someone pulls her away, while Socket will bounce between a million different things without being able to settle on one for long enough to finish it. That's just how they work. And while it can be dangerous for both of them, telling them just to tone it down isn't the way.”

“What is the way then?” Badger asked. He knew that if anyone could answer that it had to be Marilyn.

“It's hard for me to say without seeing them face to face again. It's been so long and Wren's letters only put so much across,” answered Marilyn, “If only I could talk to them again I might be able to find some way to help.”

Then an idea struck Badger.

“Why doun't I bring them down with me when I come t' visit? Sure, we'll 'ave t' work around Wren's school schedule, but I'm sure we could figure summit out,” he suggested.

“I think half term is coming up,” Marilyn said, “If you could get Wren to agree to leaving her studies for that long then it might be an idea. However, there's a bit of an issue on my end as well.”

“Oh?” Badger prompted.

“It's nothing major,” assured Marilyn, “It's just that Dad's got a big delivery to make for Dropstone. They're becoming a regular customer of ours. It's going to take all of my family to get the supplies there, even Gus is helping out. And then we're staying there for the week to help with the celebrations, because every bit of money helps, right? I'm not saying that you can't come to Misthallery while we're not there, but I do think it would be a shame to miss you. And particularly if you bring the other two with you, since I want to talk to them.”

“Yeah, if we're coming back 'ome then I want t' see all of yer,” Badger answered, “I think it'd be best if I talk this through with Wren and Socket, then work out when would be best fer all of us.”

“That does sound like the right idea. And I'll be here for a couple more days if you need to call back and sort anything out,” Marilyn added.

“Will do. Well, I betteh let yer go, Mal. It were great talking t' yer again,” concluded Badger.

“You too, Badger. See you soon!”

With that the two of them hung up and Badger made his way back to the house. His mind was buzzing with how to work around this. If Marilyn was leaving in a couple of days and then would be away for a week then that was potentially nine or ten days before they could even think about going there. And on top of that there was Wren's school term. Badger doubted he'd be able to convince her to go before the holidays started. So many elements got in the way of spontaneous decision-making... Badger had no idea how Crow could do it as much as he did.

When he got back into the house, Wren and Socket were already waiting for him in the hallway.

“Ya took forever!” Socket scolded.

“That's 'cause I were sorting out a surprise,” Badger said.

“Wot sorta surprise?” questioned Socket.

“Part of me wants t' say that if I told yer then it wouldn't be a surprise, but I kindeh do need t' tell yer,” Badger explained, “I were talking to Marilyn about gan down t' Mist'allereh fer a while afteh 'ere.”

“I guess you would need to sort that out. So when are you going?” checked Wren.

“That's the thing, Mal and Gus are gan t' be away fer a bit more than a week and it'd be a waste t' not see everyone if I'm gan back,” Badger said.

“But that's okay. Ya can stay 'ere until then,” chimed Socket.

“It's a shame though, since not long after you'll be going, I'll break up for a week,” Wren added, “I would have been able to spend more time with you then than I can do now.”

“That works out pretteh well though, 'cause Mal and me were talking about the two of yer coming with me. They'd all want t' see yers again,” Badger suggested.

“Yeah, that'd be great!” Socket cheered, “I really wanna see everyone!”

“But...” Wren mumbled.

“No buts, Wrenny. It'd be the best an' ya know it,” whined Socket.

“What about my studying though...?” Wren asked.

“Take it with yer,” suggested Badger, in a spur of the moment idea, “Sure, yer not ganneh get t' do it the whole time, but if yer would feel betteh t' 'ave revision books there sometime then why not? Doubt anyone would mind.”

“I suppose so,” said Wren, “If it's all right with Mum.”

They talked the whole thing through with Ms. Turner not long after that. It went much smoother than Badger had expected it to. In fact, she sounded keen on the idea of her kids getting a break from everything. The way Socket had put it across, it seemed as if their mother was on Wren's side, but to Badger she seemed just as worried about Wren as she was about Socket.

So between her and Marilyn they arranged the trip to take place in two weeks time, which was when Wren broke up from school. That meant Badger would be in Northumberland for two weeks, which was longer than he'd intended, but when he'd called Crow to tell him about it nothing seemed to cause any problems.

The biggest problem Badger found was that after the second day he'd gotten a little bored. It was a horribly selfish thing to say, but it was true. Wren still had to go to school, so she wasn't around for most of the time. And while Socket enjoyed showing off to Badger, he soon ran out of things to show and shut himself back in his shed to work on more projects. It seemed to Badger as if the siblings had locked up in themselves without having the big group of friends around that they used to have. Hopefully the trip to Misthallery would do them good.

Badger didn't have too much problem with walking through the countryside and its various villages to keep himself occupied, but part of him did wish that he had something else to do.

On his way back to the house from one such walk he passed a village noticeboard and something caught his eye. It was an old flyer, only just sticking out from behind several newer ones. The rich purples and deep blues on it grabbed Badger's attention, so he looked around to make sure no one was watching and then carefully unpinned it from the board to take a closer look. He had to replace several of the newer posters, which tumbled down when he took out the pin, but once he did that he was free to admire the curious flyer.

There wasn't much he could make out on it without being able to read the text, but the picture showed an impressive circus tent with various clowns in front of it. And the most impressive of all was a white tiger wearing a blue hat. Badger tucked the flyer into his pocket, then went to show it to Socket.

“Oh yeah? That was for some circus from ages ago,” Socket informed, when Badger had got to the shed, “They 'eld it at Sea'ouses, that's a town near 'ere, and it was pretty amazin'. They 'ad all those clowns an' the tiger. But I don't think they're gonna come this year. Apparently they mostly stay in Monte d'Or an' tours are pretty rare.”

“Monte d'Or...?” echoed Badger.

“That's right. Ya gotta know about Monte d'Or, dontcha? It's that city in the desert where those mega rich Ledores live an' there's always magicians, so everyday is like bein' at the circus!” Socket concluded his explanation with a wistful sigh; “I bet they 'ave loads o' fun there.”

When the Ledores were mentioned, Badger's mind was brought back to Dalston. He remembered that Dalston had said he knew them and he'd mentioned that Ascot guy as well. Then he left in a hurry once his friend had got there with news about a baby. It certainly seemed as if it was all happening in Monte d'Or right now. And from what Socket said, the whole place sounded like nothing that he'd ever seen before.

Badger looked back down at the flyer.

“I'd like t' go there,” he admitted.

Socket snorted; “Well yeah, everyone wants to go to Monte d'Or, Carrotnose. But 'ow are ya gonna find the time to do that?”

“I've got time now,” Badger guiltily pointed out.

“Woah, ya actually serious about this?” Socket gasped. He put down his wrench and stared up at Badger in awe. Part of Badger had expected him to be annoyed about suggesting leaving, but that wasn't the case at all; “Are ya really gonna go? Even though ya might run into the Masked Wotsit an' then get set on fire or turned into stone or wotever 'e does?”

“That guy got stopped years ago,” dismissed Badger.

“So they say! But I saw this magazine that said it was a 'uge cover-up an' actually the Masked guy still lives in the Ledore's attic. So I'm not takin' any chances. Ya well brave if ya goin' there, Carrotnose,” Socket insisted.

It was such an out-of-nowhere idea. But now it has stuck in Badger's head and he wasn't going to shake it free. For whatever reason, he really wanted to do this.

“Mebbe I should go, just so I can stop this Masked Gentleman from bothering anyone. Then I can bring 'is mask back 'ere as proof that I did it,” joked Badger.

“Do it! Ya have to do that!” pleaded Socket.

“Do yer mean it?” Badger laughed.

“O' course I mean it!” Socket wailed.

“I reckon I will then,” mused Badger, “I could 'ead off t' Monte d'Or then be back 'ere in time fer our trip t' Mist'allereh. It takes ages t' get to Monte d'Or from what I've 'eard, so two weeks would be plenty of time t' make it there and back while 'aving a good stretch in the city as well.”

“And ya promise ya gonna bring back that mask?” pressed Socket.

“I can't promise that!” Badger protested.

“Okay, okay, I know that. I'm not stupid,” huffed Socket, “But at least punch that guy in the face if ya see 'im. For all the bother 'e caused nice people like Mrs. Ledore.”

Part of Badger suspected that suggestion might have something to do with the fact that all those glossy magazines always said that Angela Ledore was one of those most beautiful women in the world and that perhaps Socket was a little star-struck with her. Not that Badger could blame him. Although he was only interested in Crow, he had to admit that both of the Ledores looked very pretty. They seemed like the ideal rich, famous couple to Badger.

And after settling the idea with Socket it was just a matter of waiting for Wren and her mum to get back so they could talk about it. Neither of them seemed that upset by him leaving, since he wasn't tied to staying at their house. And he did promise that he'd be back before the two weeks were up or else send a message to Marilyn to pass on if he couldn't make it. Worst case scenario, if he ran late then the siblings could go on ahead and meet him down at Misthallery.

Then he phoned Crow to let him know about this absurd idea. Somehow Crow seemed almost as keen for it as Badger was. Everyone was a little curious about that mysterious desert city, it would appear. He also made Badger promise that he'd call in to see Dalston, to thank him for all the help he'd given to the shop.

Once everything was sorted, Badger packed his bags once more and left. Honestly, he thought to himself, he was turning into quite the traveller all of a sudden...


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His side-step to Monte d'Or gives Badger the holiday he deserves and sees him meeting a famous face for himself.

The trip to Monte d'Or was a long and complicated one. Badger had to make changes between several different forms of transport along the way and the final stretch saw him spend hours on a coach that drove him through miles of empty desert. Excitable tourists sat all around him, chattering loudly amongst themselves. He felt a little trapped.

But he knew that it was entirely worth it as soon as he got there. The coach pulled up to the outskirts of the city, to give everyone a good view of it. The night had long since settled in and Badger suspected that the driver had timed it that way on purpose, since it allowed for everyone to see the full splendour of the lights from within the city.

Every part of Monte d'Or that Badger could see was lit up. The whole place looked like a giant carnival, with the different coloured lights inviting them inside.

Now that he was off the coach Badger moved away from the tourists, not wanting to be swept up into whatever scheduled events were planned for them. Badger would rather do his own thing, not walk around being told why some building was so important. But he fast learned that it was impossible to escape from tourists here – they were everywhere. Though given that Badger himself also fell into that category he didn't complain.

As he walked around, Badger felt that it wasn't so much that Monte d'Or was a city that never slept as it was one that came alive at night. Everything about this place seemed like a light show set up to entertain people. Part of him wondered what it would look like tomorrow morning when all the lights had gone out. Though he'd have to wait to find that out.

Another thing that stuck out to Badger was how the rooftops here looked like they'd be fun to scale across. Suddenly he wished that all of the Black Ravens could have come with him, since they'd undoubtedly enjoy jumping from roof to roof in a strange new place. That was something that Badger would definitely have to try doing before he left.

Eventually he came across an area where the crowds were almost too packed for him to move. Everyone was huddled together, watching one of the circus shows in front of them. It must have been a particularly impressive one, given the loud gasps the crowd kept making.

Despite his height usually giving him an advantage in these situations, even Badger found there were too many people for him to make out what was going on. So instead he kept as close to the back as he could manage and headed for another street off to the left that looked slightly less busy than this one.

He almost made it there without bumping into anyone. Almost.

“S-sorreh... I'm just trying t' get through.”

“Huh? Yer one of the lads tryin' t' open that shop down south, aren't yer?”

Badger looked up and realised that he'd walked right into Dalston. The exact person who Crow had told him to say hello to while he was here. Talk about coincidences.

“Yeah. Um... been travellin' a bit t' see some friends and I wanted t' come check this place out as well,” Badger answered. Then he suddenly felt self-conscious about abandoning Crow and added, “...Just 'cause it might be a while before I can once we get the shop running.”

Dalston waved a big hand dismissively; “Don't need t' explain yerself t' me, lad. Monte d'Or is a wonderful place, I couldn't blame anyone fer wantin' t' see it.”

“It does look impressive,” agreed Badger. Then he looked back over at the crowd and asked, “So what is it that they're all looking at?”

“Oh, that's just Bratscot showin' off, like usual,” Dalston tutted.

“Y-yer mean Randall Ascot? The actual, real-life Randall Ascot?” Badger gasped.

“Don't let 'im 'ear yer talk like that or 'e might start thinkin' that 'e's famous,” grumbled Dalston. But before Badger could point out that he kind of was famous, Dalston added, “Honestly, yer think 'e'd be at 'ome with 'is family instead of prancing around in that silly costume of 'is. Especially now.”

“His family? Do yer mean the Ledores?” asked Badger. He felt a bit like he'd turned into one of those silly magazines, asking so many questions about them. But he couldn't stop himself from being curious.

“Hm? Yeah, of course I mean them,” said Dalston, as if it was no big deal.

As much as Badger knew he should leave it at that, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the hurry that Dalston had been in to get back here after he'd heard about the baby. Surely it wasn't too nosy to ask about that, since he had been a bystander to Dalston getting that news.

“So... eh, is the Ledores' babeh doin' ah'reet?” he asked.

“Oh, yer mean Angela's young 'un?” checked Dalston, not seeming to realise what he'd said.

“And 'enry's,” Badger reminded.

Dalston pulled a confused face at him; “What? The baby's Ascot's, not 'enry's!”

At that, Badger's eyes almost popped out of his head.

“So the gossip rags were right! They are 'aving an affair!” he blurted out.

“Oh bloomin' 'eck, I shouldeh kept me mouth shut...” Dalston murmured, “Look, no one's 'avin' any affair. And if yer tell any reporters owt like that then I'll knock yer block off. What goes on between those three is their business. But yeah, the baby is Randall and Angela's.”

This was a lot for Badger to take in, as much as he knew that these people were strangers and whatever they did had nothing to do with him. He stared out to the crowd, where he could just see the remains of an explosion of purple smoke that the people around him were gasping at. It looked as if Randall had finished one of his magic tricks, not that Badger could see it.

“So what's 'e doin' out 'ere if 'e's just 'ad a baby?” Badger thought aloud.

“Like I said before, bein' a show off, as always,” answered Dalston, “Though t' be fair, I bet 'enry and Angela are in the crowd with the young 'un anyway. Ascot's keen to show that kid everythin' 'e knows about magic and archaeology and all that, so I guess it's good t' start 'im off young.”

“Sounds nice...” Badger mumbled.

It was horrible, but in that moment he felt a little jealous of the baby. It must be nice to have a dad who adored you so much that they wanted to teach you everything they knew. Though as soon as he thought that, a wave of guilt ran through him. Badger knew that his own dad was very ill in ways he didn't understand and how he'd treated Badger hadn't been entirely his fault, even if it felt like it was. And one day Badger knew that when he was in a better place himself, he'd have to go back to visit his dad.

“I guess so, if that's what the kid wants,” Dalston replied, “So since yer just got 'ere 'ave yer found anywhere t' stay?”

“No, not yet,” admitted Badger.

“That's not a problem, just stay at one of my 'otels,” Dalston insisted.

“Neveh thought of that. Are they any good?” Badger checked.

“Betteh than Ledore's...” muttered Dalston. And Badger instantly doubted that this was true, but didn't want to offend him.

“W-where can I find it then?” stammered Badger, before he could say anything else wrong.

“Just follow down that road there until yer come to a big sign with a camel on. Can't miss it. Tell 'em that Dalston sent yer and I'll wave the bill,” answered Dalston.

“Really? That's very nice of yer! Thanks!” Badger cheered.

“Us northerners got t' stick together, ey? Now get out of 'ere before you get swept up in admirin' Ascot like every other idiot 'ere is,” finished Dalston.

Badger headed off without pointing out to Dalston that he was also here watching Randall's performance without so much as an explanation as to why.

He found the hotel without much trouble, just like Dalston had said. Part of him was worried that they wouldn't believe him about being invited here by Dalston himself, but as soon as he said that was the case the staff just seemed to accept it and went to show him to a room. Perhaps Dalston invited people here a lot. So Badger followed along, nodding politely as the attendant reeled off facts about the hotel. Apparently Badger was very lucky, because the room he was staying in had once been used by the famous Professor Layton, who saved London from the terror attack a few years back. It still felt a little unreal for Badger to hear that the man who had helped protect Misthallery was now famous, but he supposed that he shouldn't be surprised. As he settled down into the room for the night, he wondered about what sort of adventure Mr. Layton might have had when he'd come here.

***

Badger was woken up the next morning by warm rays of sunlight beating down though the curtains. Monte d'Or definitely saw the benefits of being in the desert and Badger had to hunt through his bags to find a simple t-shirt to wear instead of his usual jumpers. It felt weird to him, coming from a cold place where you had to put on as many layers as possible to get through the day, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant for a holiday. Though Badger doubted that he could live here forever with this kind of heat.

At the front of hotel two parrots were playfully flying about around the camel sign. One was green and the other was red. Badger watched their colourful display for a while before heading out to see what else the city had to offer.

Certainly it was quieter now than it had been last night, although the streets were still quite busy with the early-rising tourists. The first place Badger went to was the circus tent, where he was glad to see the tiger from the flyer snoozing away, as well as a couple of performing rabbits practising their tricks. He had a feeling that if Crow was there that he would have gotten some money-making ideas from watching that.

After the circus he doubled back into the main bulk of the city. There was plenty to do there and Badger found himself wandering through an art gallery and an amusement park. He very nearly went into a casino was well, but he knew that gambling wasn't for him. Besides, the guy standing by the door in the sunglasses had looked intimidating...

There were many market stalls as well, which was always where a Black Raven's main interests lay. It amused Badger to discover that even though the Masked Gentleman had once terrorised the city, he now seemed to be something of a novelty mascot and the stalls had replicas of his mask hung up by the dozen. Badger bought one to take back for Socket, since he did promise. It might just have been made from cheap plastic but it would do the trick.

Then it was a matter of finding something for Wren, since he didn't want to buy for one but not the other. Perhaps there was nothing amongst this tourist tat that would be of much interest, but it was the thought that counted. Eventually Badger settled upon a small figure in the shape of a bird, which he assumed had 'Monte d'Or' written along the base in gold. As well as this he picked up a wind-chime based on a deconstructed version of the famous mask for their mum, as a thank you for letting him stay.

Once that was done Badger figured that he'd seen mostly everything, excluding whatever events they put on at different times and the massive Reunion Inn, which according to a passing tour guide was apparently interesting from an architectural standpoint... whatever that meant. He figured that for the rest of his time here that he'd plan his schedule around whatever was on, but today had been about getting the lay of the land and he'd managed that just fine.

There was still a long afternoon left though, so after dropping his gifts off back at the hotel Badger let temptation get the better of him and climbed up onto the rooftops.

It wasn't hard to make his way up there, though he did have to duck about to escape notice from the streets below. But once he'd made it, Badger felt glad that he was able to see the city in a way that few other people probably had done. He supposed that it'd be even more amazing during the night, when all the lights were on. For right now though, it was a better idea to do this in daylight so he could work out where was best to climb. One wrong footing could be disastrous when scaling these heights, after all.

As he made his way from one building to another, Badger realised that while it was still hot up here, being away from the bustle of the crowds meant that it wasn't quite as... sweaty (as gross as that sounded) and the breeze blew through the air easier. He much preferred getting around this way to being on the streets.

He had a few minutes of blissfully hopping about, minding his own business, until something caught his eye. From a few buildings away, another figure drew itself up to stand and stared right across at him. Badger was not the only person here.

Without stopping to think, Badger panicked and fled. The best idea would be to make his way back from where he'd came, but Badger wasn't entirely sure where that was now. It had been somewhere near the hotel he was staying at. Which was... that way?

Badger turned about to look for a route he recognised and instantly regretted doing so. The figure who'd spotted him had decided to follow. There was a flash of white and gold behind him. It was too much for Badger to take.

Turning back the way he'd been going, Badger put a foot out to jump to the next building. But he'd miscalculated. He slipped.

His legs scrambled beneath him as he lost his footing, but before he could fall too far his pursuer reached out and grab him around his waist. The wind was knocked out of Badger as he was pulled backwards, but considering the alternate had been plummeting to the streets below, that was the least of his worries. He was heaved back onto the edge of the roof, then the other person let go of him.

“Are you okay? It's dangerous to run about up here.”

Badger sat down for a moment to find his bearings again. He felt dizzy and sick.

“Yeah... I'm ah'reet...” he murmured.

“That's good. Though I guess I shouldn't tell you not to do it, since I'm up here all the time. But you don't see many others brave enough to try. I admire that about you, kid. So what's your name then?”

“B-badgeh...” answered Badger, “And yer... yer must be... oh no...”

As Badger took a proper look at the person who'd saved him, he realised that he didn't need to be told who it was. The white suit from all the posters, the silk top hat and the golden mask that Badger doubted was one of the plastic ones from the stall. To send away any doubts he might have had, the Masked Gentleman removed his mask to reveal a mess of red hair and a cheeky grin.

It was only the actual Randall Ascot.

“Some people call me 'oh no', but I reckon that just comes with the territory,” Randall joked, “So what are you doing up here anyway?”

“I were...” Badger felt like his mouth was suddenly stuck together. His whole throat dried up. It couldn't be real that this person was here talking to him. Though it was real and Badger needed to say something soon, because Randall was looking at him expectantly. He mustered up his strength and said, “...I were just... getting a betteh look at the city. I like climbing more than walking, so...”

“Well, I guess that's thinking outside the box. It's what I would have done,” Randall praised, “But it seriously is dangerous up here if you don't know what you're doing. Sheffield would have my hide if someone got hurt on these roofs on my watch.”

“B-but I know what I'm doing. U-usually. Back where I come from we do this all the time. I'm just not used t' it 'ere,” argued Badger. He felt that he should defend himself.

“So are you a circus performer?” Randall asked, “The big top here is always open to new talent and that was some speed you had on you back there. I bet they'd take you on.”

“N-nah, I'm nowt like that!” gasped Badger. Then he suddenly realised that he shouldn't sound as if that was an offensive suggestion, given that Randall himself was doing some kind of street performance last night. So he quickly changed tact and said, “Um, if it's okay t' ask, what were yer doing up 'ere yerself?”

“Oh, I was just getting ready for tonight. These magic shows don't set themselves up, you know? It takes a bit of work on my part,” Randall replied.

“It sounded like yer did a realleh good job last night. I couldn't see much of it, but the crowd were well impressed,” said Badger.

“Thanks! I do pride myself on getting it just right. Maybe it is hard work, but the pay off is definitely worth it. Especially when my family gets to watch and enjoy it. I wouldn't be anywhere without them...” Randall wistfully stated. Then he seemed to think of something else; “Hey, if you want to get a better look tonight then why don't you climb up here? The main part of my show takes place over there, so you'd get a good view from up here as long as you stay out the way once I start flying about and tightrope walking.”

“Mebbe I will,” agreed Badger, “Thanks fer the advice.”

“No problem. Just be more careful next time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to making sure everything's ready,” Randall finished.

He took a low bow to Badger, replaced the golden mask and then, just like that, he was off again. Badger watched in awe as he jumped gracefully across the gaps between the rooftops. Clearly he'd done it a lot before.

So that was Randall Ascot. Gone before Badger could embarrass himself by asking any probing questions about his relationship with the Ledores or the new baby. Although that was probably for the best. And he did seem like a nice guy. Much nicer than Badger had been expecting from what all the gossip usually said about him.

Badger did take him up on his suggestion as well.

By the time darkness fell once more, he'd climbed back up to that place again and found somewhere that he could sit that gave him a clear view of the stage below, without getting in the way of any of the invisible wires Randall had set up.

The crowd started to form long before Randall himself came out. Badger spotted Dalston again, as well as the shady-looking man from the casino. After looking around for a while he saw two blonde figures right at the front, one of which was holding a baby. His heart skipped a beat when he realised it was the Ledores. He'd seen so many well-known faces today. Part of him did wonder if Randall might have talked to them about the strange boy he'd saved from falling today, but then he figured that they probably all had more interesting things going on in their lives than that.

After a while the spotlights came on. They swivelled up to a pillar above the stage, where the Masked Gentleman himself stood, all grand and smart in his outfit. He took a few steps out, seemingly onto mid air, swinging his cane around as he went, before he suddenly stopped and jumped off. A pair of wings sprouted out from behind him and saw him glide safely to the ground. Badger honestly wasn't sure how he'd done that trick, but it very much impressed the crowd. If Badger had been there early enough to watch this opening act yesterday then he definitely wouldn't have left.

Everything after that was just as amazing, from the big, grand tricks to the smaller, more subtle ones. All eyes were on Randall and he seemed to know exactly how to please the crowd. In a weird way it reminded Badger of how Crow would be when he was at the front of an auction hall, dressed in his Black Raven outfit. Some people were just born to do this.

The act seemed to fly by all too quickly, although in truth Badger had been sat up there for more than an hour and he felt a bit numb when he tried to stand up again. Before he left, Badger watched the Masked Gentleman draw out his wings again, only for them to suddenly transform into a flock of doves that covered the whole stage. Once the doves parted, Randall was gone and the crowd burst into a final loud applause.

Maybe there was a trick to everything, but in that moment Badger felt as if the show, and indeed Monte d'Or itself, was magical.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip back to Misthallery sees a lot of faces reunited and Badger learns about the changes that have been made to the Black Ravens there since he left. It also seems to him as if Wren, Socket and one other person aren't ready to admit to the problems within themselves.

The trip to Monte d'Or had proven to be as relaxing as Badger had hoped it would be. When he'd first set out for it, he wasn't even sure that he needed to get away from everything as much as he did, but now he was back at the Turners' house he could definitely feel the benefits. For a bit more than a week he'd been able to stop himself from worrying about what was going on with all the others and just have fun. As much as Badger cared about his friends and wanted to work through their problems with them, he knew that this time apart from them had also been something that he'd needed. Hopefully it would mean that he'd be able to come back to the others refreshed and better prepared to help them.

His hosts were glad to see him when he arrived, although Socket did have an ulterior motive. He walked boldly towards Badger and held out a hand.

“Where is it then? That mask ya were gonna get me?” he demanded.

With a big grin, Badger went rummaging through his bag. He took out the plastic mask he'd picked up and plonked it into Socket's open hand.

“There yer go. Wrestled it from the Masked Gentleman meself,” Badger claimed.

“I knew I could count on ya, Carrotnose!” cheered Socket.

Although he knew the mask was fake, it was all Socket needed to be happy. Part of Badger suspected that the mask might find itself on the front of an unfinished invention, which would be an interesting sight to behold.

With Socket satisfied, Badger then went to give his other gifts to Wren and her mum. He felt a little bad for forgetting Phant, but the dog didn't seem to mind at all. She was just happy that another person had come back to fuss over her.

“This is really nice,” Wren said, “I'll put it on my desk. Oh, and Marilyn called, by the way. Her and Gus are back from Dropstone now, so since I've also broken up for half term we can go to Misthallery whenever you like.”

“Well 'ow about tomorreh then?” Badger suggested.

“That's be great! I can't wait to see everyone again and tell 'em about 'ow awesome I've gotten,” Socket boasted.

Badger chuckled, “I'm sure they'll be able t' see that just by looking at yer both.”

***

So the next day the three of them set out to go back to the place that they all still thought of as home. It was funny really, Badger considered. Once upon a time Crow had come to Northumberland to try and bring both of them back, only to return without them. And now it was Badger who was going to Misthallery with Wren and Socket, even if it was only temporary for them all. Back then, Badger could never have imagined ever reaching this stage.

Ms. Turner drove them to the station, then made one final check that they all had everything before saying goodbye.

“Say hello to everyone at the market from me,” she said, “And Penley, remember to change your shirt everyday. I'll be checking up with your sister to make sure you do.”

“I told ya not to call me that in front o' my mates, Mum!” Socket whined, “It's Socket, okay?”

“Whatever you say, Pen,” he mum laughed.

Socket got onto the train in a sulk, but he did give his mum a quick kiss goodbye before he left. Wren was much more polite about the whole thing. She reached up to softly hug her mum, then quietly whispered goodbye and followed Socket onto the train.

“I'll look afteh them, doun't worreh,” assured Badger.

“Thank you. I'm sure you will. You seem very responsible, Badger,” Ms. Turner praised.

“I... eh, kindeh... I guess...” mumbled Badger, embarrassed by the compliment.

After that Badger joined the other two on the train and they all waved as it pulled off from the station. It was a long journey back, as always, but in the company of good friends it went by in no time at all. Though he was sure they already knew about it, Badger told Wren and Socket about how Roddy and Scraps had gone to London, so they wouldn't be there. And of course neither would Crow. But Tony had rejoined the Black Ravens again, bringing Arianna with him, so there'd be four familiar faces waiting to greet them, including Marilyn and Gus.

“It's a shame everyone won't be here,” said Wren, as the train pulled up at their stop, “Louis could have come with you, Badger, and joined us when we went down south.”

“Reckon Louis's got a lot on right now...” Badger mumbled. He didn't like to be cryptic, but the fact of the matter was that he didn't even know what was going on with Louis himself.

When they got off the train it was a short walk from the town it arrived in to Misthallery. Badger briefly considered stopping in to see his dad, since the hospital was in the same town as the train station, but decided now wasn't the time. Both because they had to be somewhere and because he felt like he wasn't ready within himself.

So instead they made their way home, to find Marilyn and Gus waiting for them next to the rope bridge.

“Marilyn! It's great to see you,” called Wren.

The two girls hugged each other, as Gus smiled and nodded quietly to Badger, who nodded back at him. It felt a little unreal that they were all together again after so long and Badger needed a moment to adjust.

“Is this it?” Socket whined, “No offense to youse two, but I was 'opin' for a bigger welcome mat, ya know?”

Marilyn let go of Wren and told him, “There would have been more, but we've got a lot of catching up to do after being away from the auctions for a week. The others are all there though, so you'll see them when you get to the market. But the boss wouldn't let more than two of us go away for too long and we weren't sure exactly when you'd get here.”

“All?” Badger echoed. Two other people hardly counted as 'all' in his books. It was an odd choice of words if that had been what Marilyn had meant.

But Socket had another question and he was much louder about voicing it than Badger was.

“Wait a minute... I thought ya were the boss, Marilyn?” he pressed. And Badger had to admit that was a good thing to ask as well.

Wren and Marilyn shared a look. Then they both started to laugh.

“You mean you haven't even told Crow and Badger?” Wren said, between the giggling.

“Why spoil the surprise?” Marilyn replied, “I can't wait to see the look on Crow's face in particular. Badger, you have to promise not to tell him when you get back.”

“Not t' tell 'im what?” asked Badger.

“You'll see,” Gus promised.

With that, the group headed across the bridge that led into the market. Badger and Socket both had a lot of questions now. Between the two of them Socket made his annoyance at being left out of the loop more obvious, but even Badger wasn't sure what to make of it. As much as he knew Crow had every reason to trust Marilyn, the fact remained that she was just as good of a metaphorical chess player as he was, if not better, so she may well have made some big changes since they'd left. It sounded as if she had.

There were a few familiar residents wandering around the market, all of them glad to see the three returning travellers. Aunt Taffy was sat on a stool by her cart, the boatman Bucky was passing by to fetch some spare oars from his shack and a kindly woman called Jasmine was admiring some bread from one of the stalls. But they didn't see another Black Raven until they got to the manhole that led to their auction hall, where Tony stood on guard.

“Good to see you made it all right,” Tony said, once they reached him.

“An' it's just as good to see they gave ya a second chance,” Socket commented. He gave Tony a pat on the back, seeming to think that was how he could act as a wise old Black Raven; “Look, I know it ain't easy bein' the kid o' the group, I've bin there myself. But don't worry, I'll look out for ya an' I'm sure with the proper guidance ya gonna find yaself at the top o' the ladder before ya know it. Just like me!”

“Okay. Um... thanks?” Tony mumbled. He raised an eyebrow.

“Tony, you have to look at this!” A little head popped out of the manhole. It took Badger a moment to recognise it as Sean, one of the kids from town. His eyes fixed on Tony, Sean continued, “We were cleaning out the old boxes to make more room in the back and I found this clock that Arianna said is like... genuine Victorian. She said we could sell it for loads and it's all thanks to me. Isn't that great?”

“That is great,” Tony praised, “Now you'd better go let Arianna know that our guests have got here.”

“Right away!” With that, Sean was gone as quickly as he'd appeared.

Socket groaned; “Ya mean to tell me that after waitin' so long to have a younger Black Raven to look up to me, 'e's already go his own little Black Raven lookin' up to 'im? An' 'oo let Sean in for that matter?”

“Arianna did,” answered Gus, “And we can't exactly ignore a direct order from the leader.”

At that, Socket's eyes almost popped right out of his head.

“No way! Since when is she the leader? Crow will never like that!” he wailed.

“Well, if we were all still doing exactly what Crow wanted us to then we'd be stuck in the dark ages, wouldn't we? The only way forward is to move with the times. Every good Black Raven knows that.”

As much as Badger felt sorry for Socket, it was almost funny to watch as the icy dread crept across his already unsettled face. He turned slowly on his heels and looked up into the smug face of Charlie from North Ely. Then he exploded.

“Wot is Curly doin' 'ere? We're not doin' this! No, no, no! Not ever! I'm gonna march down to Southampton an' tell Crow that youse let 'is worst enemy into the base an' that 'e's probably a spy 'oo will tell all our secrets to everyone ever an' it'll be all youse guys faults!” Socket cried.

Charlie lifted up a hand to admire his nails, not even fazed by Socket's words.

“If I am a spy, then at least I make that outfit look good while I'm doing it,” he hummed.

“There! Curly just admitted 'e's a spy! Youse all 'eard that!”

“Calm down, Socket. He's not a spy,” Gus insisted, “Charlie's been with us for a while and he's proven very good at hosting the auctions now that Crow's gone. Even if he does insist on wearing... a different outfit to the traditional one.”

“Youse let 'im stand up on stage!” Socket protested.

“It is where I was born to be,” assured Charlie.

“Ugh! Just... uuuuggghhhh! Are there any other Black Ravens I should know about?” Socket demanded.

“Not at the moment, but we were considering Finch,” Marilyn informed.

“Finch! That kid 'oo always 'angs around everythin' we do?” Socket checked.

“He has some good qualities,” Charlie assured.

Socket glared at him; “I don't care about any qualities 'e might 'ave. This is... this is... I dunno wot this is, but I don't like it.”

“They did what they had to so they could keep the business running,” Wren reasoned, “You wouldn't want the Black Ravens to pack in doing auctions, would you?”

“No...” Socket sulked.

“Then just accept that Sean and Charlie are part of this now. And that Arianna's the leader. A pretty good leader, from what I've been told,” Wren went on.

“She knows where everyone needs to be and what they need to be doing,” Marilyn confirmed, “Everyone respects her, so it works out pretty well.”

“But everyone respects ya, too... I don't get this,” Socket muttered, “But fiiiine. I can see that youse needed to do somethin' without my greatness to 'elp all the time, so I suppose I'll let the Sean an' Arianna thing slide. Still not 'appy about Curly though.”

“I'm sure Curly will live with that,” Charlie replied, “Now shall I lead you all down to the hall?”

“We can see ourselves in, thanks!” snapped Socket.

He barged past Charlie, purposely bumping into him as he went. Then he climbed down the manhole and presumably disappeared on his way. Since they knew he needed to blow off some steam, the others gave him a minute before going after. Only Tony remained on the surface, guarding the entrance as he had been before they arrived.

As they walked through the tunnel Badger was overwhelmed by how it was just the same as it had been before. Which was a silly thing to think really, given that there wasn't much that the tunnel could do to change. It was just that he himself had changed so much since he'd left here and so had all the others. To be faced with something that was exactly the same as it had been in what felt like an eternity ago (even if it was only last year) was just... strange.

They got through the tunnel, through the market stalls with the samples of goods and into the auction hall itself. Badger was almost relieved to see that this had changed a little. Not too much, but enough that Badger could disconnect it from the life he'd left behind. There was a cool blue feel to the decorations now. Maybe Charlie or Arianna or both of them had made the decision for that change, Badger wouldn't be surprised.

Arianna was up on stage, talking to Socket, and Sean was peeking around from the door of the back room, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. Given how loud Socket could be, Badger wouldn't blame Sean if he was nervous of him.

“Wot took ya so long?” Socket called, once they were all in the room.

“Just thought we'd give you a moment to cool off,” purred Charlie.

Socket scrunched up his face as if he was going to make a retort. But then he let the moment pass and calmed himself, looking instead towards the others; “Me an' Arianna were just talkin' about stuff. Told 'er that I ain't 'appy with all these changes, but I can live with it so long as Curly doesn't get to make too many decisions.”

“Wait until you see my outfit,” Charlie chuckled.

“Let's not get into that now,” Arianna said. It seemed like she was trying to defuse a potential situation and that was a good choice; “We've got so much catching up to do with all three of you. Why don't we all take a seat so we can chat?”

They did exactly that. Even Sean came through to join them from the other room, though he didn't contribute much to the conversation. Not that Badger could judge anyone on that, given that he didn't either. For the most part he was happy to sit and listen to the others talk, only answering questions when the others wanted to know what him, Crow or the London Black Ravens had been up to. When he wasn't recounting what they'd been through, Badger listened to how the Black Ravens here had been doing since they left. It sounded as if they'd had a big revamp of how everything looked.

“It was the first thing Charlie wanted to do after Roddy left, since that was when he started to take being one of us more seriously,” Marilyn explained.

“I can't believe that Curly would take anythin' seriously,” huffed Socket. Though Badger did notice that, despite his complaints, Socket had chosen to sit down next to Charlie.

“Well, I do take my vision seriously. Though I have to confess that having Arianna and Gus to consult did help. They have a good eye for this sort of thing as well,” Charlie said.

“You say that, but you ignored all of my pleading not to change the Black Raven outfit,” Gus reminded.

“Youse really did let 'im change the outfit? Crow'll be turnin' in 'is grave...” Socket whined.

“Crow's not dead,” Badger stated.

“Ya know wot I mean!” snapped Socket.

“Speaking of the outfit, maybe you three should come watch the auction tonight,” Marilyn suggested, “It's all very well us talking about the changes we've made, but nothing compares to seeing them in action.”

“That sounds like a great idea. What do you think, Socket?” Wren asked.

“I suppose I could put up with watching Curly flounce around on a stage for a little while,” replied Socket.

“Honoured,” Charlie laughed.

With that decided, they finished up their conversations and headed their own ways. Arianna, Sean, Gus and Charlie all had work to get back to, so they stayed down in the hall. For the time they were in Misthallery, Wren, Socket and Badger had arranged to stay with Marilyn, so she decided to take them to her house to drop off their bags. After that was done, Badger excused himself for a chance to walk around on his own.

The first place he went, though he wasn't sure if it was intentional or if he'd just happened to walk that way, was his old house. The one that had been unoccupied since his dad had been taken into hospital. A lump formed in his throat when he saw it. There was a 'for sale' sign up above one of the windows. He had no idea what the circumstances behind that were, what it had to do with his dad or what his dad would even do when he got out of hospital for that matter, but maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. At least it hadn't sold yet, even if this didn't change the fact that the house no longer belonged to him in any way.

For a moment he considered breaking in and seeing if there was anything left inside. Anything that he might have overlooked when he decided to move out. But then he decided not to. Whatever was still in that house was now merely the remainder of a Badger who was long since gone. Pulling those memories close would not bring him back. Not now that he was finally the brand new Badger that he'd wanted to be back when Crow had first left for London. Back then Badger couldn't even imagine becoming that person would put him through so much, but he wasn't sad for the wisdom he'd picked up along the way.

So Badger turned his back on his old house and continued along his way. The rest of the afternoon was spent all over Misthallery, seeing so many familiar places and stopping to talk to a few people who recognised him. He even dropped in for lunch at Paddy's Place, which was exactly the same as it had been, save for a few different items on the menu, which Paddy told him about in person.

Once evening came, Badger made his way back to the manhole. He was a little late, so various customers were already making their way down as well. For a moment, Badger wanted to hide from them. But then he remembered that tonight he was here with them as a customer himself, not as part of the act. So he nervously made his way down with them and through to the hall. Once inside he found Wren and Socket to sit with.

“We were worried you wouldn't make it in time,” Wren whispered.

“Wouldn't miss it,” assured Badger.

They all quietened down, even Socket, once the lights dimmed. Any stragglers amongst the crowd made their ways to the nearest seats and settled into them now, all eyes expectantly on the stage, even before the spotlights pointed in that direction. And Badger noticed these too had changed. Now the lights that shone from them were a combination of faint blues and purples, which came together to make an attractive and eerie image. 'Don't touch' it said. 'What's on this stage is from a different world to yours'.

The curtain then drew back just enough so that Charlie could step out, dressed in what had once been a Black Raven robe. Badger could instantly see why Gus seemed to have had reservations about it. The outfit was definitely over the top, with small jewels sparkling each time Charlie moved and a silver trimming around the edges. Yet something about it was mesmerising. Badger couldn't take his eyes off it.

“I, the Bejewelled Raven, welcome you all to my domain once again,” Charlie purred.

Badger heard Socket gag from next to him and had to fight back a smirk himself. It was clear that the others had let Charlie run wild with this, but it must have gotten results if they kept on doing it. Once again, Badger just assumed that some people were good with crowds. People like Charlie, Crow, Max and Randall Ascot were all these sorts of people. Performers who loved the attention of others. And although Badger couldn't personally think of anything worse, he was happy enough to be a wide-eyed part of their audiences.

The auction itself went as was to be expected. It might have been given a new coat of paint, but it was otherwise still the same thing. Admittedly, it was a little strange to be part of the audience on his home turf, but Badger soon got used to it and was content in watching the crowd bid on the various items that came out. Of course he didn't bid himself, but there were a few times when Wren had to lower Socket's hand to stop him from doing just that. Something about Charlie seemed to rile Socket in a way that made him want to demand attention from the other boy. But the middle of an auction wasn't the right time to make an auctioneer pay attention to you unless you wanted to be out of pocket.

Thankfully many of the other people there seemed to have deeper pockets than Socket anyway, so he was soon drowned out in their bidding wars. Each item went for an impressive amount. The Misthallery auctions might not be bringing in nearly as much as the London ones were, but the totals were still something to be proud of, considering that they were based in a small tourist town.

Once the final auction was over, the 'Bejewelled Raven' bid them all a good night by blowing kisses into the auction. Socket muttered that it was a load of nonsense, but shut up when one was sent in his direction.

Then it was just a matter of sitting there, trying not to look too suspicious, as the other customers left the room. When they had the all clear, Marilyn, Gus and Charlie came out from behind the curtains to join them.

“The other three are dealing with the customers. Taking payments for goods and all that,” Marilyn explained.

“I'm surprised yer doun't 'ave Arianna bidding in 'ere like she used to,” said Badger.

“She does sometimes. She's very much still the public face of the Black Raven. But she can't do that every auction, so today she's dealing with the customers after the show,” Marilyn replied.

“Let's me have the stage all to myself,” Charlie chimed.

“I bet ya like that. Ya great show-off,” grumbled Socket.

“You say that like you weren't enjoying it,” Charlie retorted, “But anyway, I have to head back home now, lest my parents worry about me.”

He excused himself from the group, ignoring Socket's remark about how he still needed to listen to mummy and daddy (as if Socket was any different with his mum), then headed out through the large doors.

“Just us original Black Ravens now, thank goodness,” Socket loudly stated.

“We do have a lot to talk about,” Marilyn admitted, “I've heard some interesting things about you two.”

“What sort of things?” asked Wren.

Badger shuffled a little in his seat, worried that the accusation was going to come back to him. It was true that he had spoken to Marilyn about the two siblings worries for each other, but he'd hoped that Marilyn would discuss it with them a little more anonymously, so it wouldn't seem so much like he'd betrayed their trust.

“Just about how you've been getting along up there. I've heard a lot from your letters and I've picked up more from you both today,” Marilyn answered. It seemed that Badger had got out of the blame for now; “Some of what I've heard has made me worry, as your friend.”

“Lemme guess, Wren 'as bin talkin' about 'ow I'm a stupid moron for droppin' outta school!” Socket shot.

“I don't think you're stupid at all!” argued Wren, “But you should stick in school now that you have the chance. If you don't then you might as well never have left Misthallery at all, since you just do the same stuff now that you always did here.”

“Well mebbe that would've bin better, since then I'd be around my friends again. Instead o' Mum and ya always bein' out all the time,” Socket replied.

“Mum needs to work to make money for us to stay in that house! And I need to get good grades so I can get a proper job one day,” countered Wren.

“A job doin' wot? Ya still 'ave no idea wot ya wanna do! Bein' in school just means they give ya enough work so that ya don't 'ave to think about it!” Socket said.

“And what about you? One day you'll know exactly what you want to do, but you'll never be allowed to do it because you don't have the qualifications!” Wren snapped, “Marilyn understands that, don't you, Mal?”

Marilyn stared at them both. Her eyes boring a hole through them.

“I understand that there's a problem,” she said.

Wren froze; “I-I thought you were on my side...!”

“I'm on both of your sides,” Marilyn corrected, “I want to help you both.”

“No, I don't need any help! I'm not the one with the problem! And if you can't see that then... then... Just forget it!” cried Wren.

She got to her feet and ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. Marilyn stood up as soon as she was gone.

“I'm going after Wren,” she insisted.

“All right,” Gus said, almost making Badger jump. Admittedly he'd sort of forgotten Gus had been there, amongst everything else that was happening.

“Wot about me?” Socket wailed.

“I'll talk to you later. I need to talk to you both separately,” Marilyn told him.

“Huh. Well, wotever. I ain't gonna sit around and wait for ya,” snorted Socket. He got to his feet and headed for the door as well.

“Where are yer gan?” Badger checked.

“Somewhere away from 'ere. And don't come after me! Not that ya would...”

With that, Socket disappeared along with his sister. Leaving the three of them sat awkwardly, wondering what to do.

“Mebbe I should gan afteh 'im?” suggested Badger.

“No, he needs to blow off steam and you're not the right person for that,” Marilyn answered, “I have a good idea where he might go and he'll probably be all right for tonight. But I am going to go after Wren. Badger, I'm sorry that your first day back has been like this, but will you be able to see yourself back to my place all right?”

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” Badger said.

“Good. I'll see you both later then,” concluded Marilyn.

With that she was gone, leaving just Badger and Gus sat awkwardly in the hall in the wake of the Turner siblings' whirlwind.

“I reckon that's all been building up fer a while,” Badger mumbled, to break the silence.

“It's a shame for them both,” Gus sighed, “But I think that we can help them work it out. Marilyn and Wren are close, which is probably why it shocked Wren so much when Marilyn wasn't solely on her side.”

“Yeah, I bet yer right about that. But I still doun't know what the solution is. Especially since Mal says they're both right t' be worried,” Badger said.

“Sadly, I doubt this is something with a magical fix-all answer. We're all growing and changing, especially Wren and Socket. What works for other people might not work for those two,” replied Gus.

“That's what Marilyn said t' me oveh the phone,” Badger agreed.

“We've talked about it. Marilyn is the best when it comes to understanding others and I'm often the person she bounces her thoughts off,” said Gus. He gave a shrug and got up from where he was sat; “Honestly, I'm glad that she thinks I've grown up enough to have that honour.”

Badger looked at Gus. Really looked at him. In many ways he'd changed from how they'd been when they were kids, much like Badger himself. Gus had more confidence to him now and he'd even grown his hair out in the beginnings of a mohawk, though it didn't go well with his typical choice of red jumper. If Badger had to guess, he'd say that most people probably regarded Gus as being much more mature now, even Marilyn. And yet somehow, when Badger looked at him he still saw a lot of the old Gus, staying quiet and going along with what others thought was best. Because he was still in awe of them all and still thought that they knew better than he did. In truth, from Badger's perspective it didn't seem that Gus had changed as much as even Gus probably thought he had.

“Doun't it eveh make yer sad?” Badger said. Perhaps he hadn't meant to say it out loud, but he didn't stop it either.

“Doesn't what make me sad?” asked Gus, clearly lost.

“Just... living in Marilyn's shadow. I were like that with Crow and I thought it made me 'appy, but now I'm not so sure,” Badger explained.

Gus shrugged; “I'm fine. Whether it's good for me or not, I feel content and isn't that what matters?”

“If yer say so,” replied Badger, though he didn't agree at all, “Anyway, I am ganna 'ead t' Mal's place now. Goodnight, Gus.”

“Night, Badger.”

As Badger made to leave, Gus didn't do the same. Instead he walked over to the stage and pulled himself up onto it, taking a seat there. He then took a notebook, pen and some sweets out of his pocket, opening up the notebook to begin scribbling in it. Sweets had always been what Gus turned to for comfort when he was feeling unsettled, but the notebook was new. Badger wanted to ask him about it, but knew that now wasn't the right time. So instead he turned to leave, Gus not paying him any attention at all.

When he'd gotten out into the tunnel, Badger wondered if he was cruel to say what he had done. He'd only just seen Gus briefly and his analysis might not have been all that accurate. And yet the fact that it seemed to have hit Gus like it did suggested there was some truth to it.

Wren and Socket probably weren't the only ones who needs to get their lives in order, it would seem.

With a heavy sigh, Badger made his way back to Marilyn's house, to await the damage report that would come with her return.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the morning comes, Badger leaves Marilyn's house and sets out to find Socket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the Cadbury's website for having a useful timeline of what chocolate bars would exist in this time period. You've been very helpful.

To say Badger didn't sleep well that night would have been an understatement. He wasn't even certain that he'd slept at all. Even on the best of days Badger wasn't a particularly heavy-sleeper, but when he was as worried as he was now it wasn't even worth trying. And as much as he did feel like it was always worry, worry, worry with him, this time it was justified.

...A stubborn part of him insisted that it was always justified, but right now it definitely was. More so than usual.

As soon as the night drifted into the greys of the morning Badger stopped even trying. He pulled himself up from the mattress that had been laid out for him and hastily got ready. The rest of the room was undisturbed, given that Badger was the only one who'd slept there that night. No Wren, Socket or Marilyn at all. Perhaps he was selfish for even trying to sleep when the others were all out, but Marilyn had pretty much insisted.

Once he'd gotten downstairs Badger was at least faced with something that lessened his worries. Marilyn and Wren were sat together at the kitchen table. Wren's eyes were red and puffy. It looked as if she had been talking and crying for a long time. And Badger assumed Marilyn was just as tired as she was, but doing a good job of hiding it. She was softly rubbing a hand along Wren's back.

There was no sign of Socket though.

Marilyn looked up and over at Badger. He mouthed that he was going out to look for Socket and then waited for her response. If she said no then he wouldn't. But Marilyn nodded to him. She must have decided that enough time had passed for talking with Socket to be okay now.

So without another word Badger headed out to try and find him.

It was very early, meaning that the streets were quiet, but not entirely empty. People needed to work hard to get by in the market, so there were a lot of early-risers. Even Marilyn's parents were outside, gathering up what they would be taking to the stall today. It made Badger happy to see Marilyn's mum up and about again after so many years. The attacks on Misthallery had caused her to close in on herself to the point of sickness, but she was finally starting to recover.

He gave them a small smile, then headed off. At first Badger went to the usual places to look for Socket – the Turners' old house, their garage, the Black Raven base and even that shop the siblings used to hang around in front of – but those yielded no results.

He stopped near to where Aunt Taffy would eventually bring her sweet stall. Given that Socket had been out all night, Badger could wander around aimlessly and never pass him. He needed to put some thought into this. Marilyn had said she'd had a good idea where Socket might go. Maybe he should have asked about that before going out, but he hadn't wanted to interrupt her and Wren. So he'd just have to figure this out on his own.

The market was their everything. When the Black Ravens wanted to feel together, they'd be at the market. But if Badger personally wanted to get away from the Black Ravens for a while then the market would be the first place he'd want out of. It was possible that Socket had felt the same.

Badger did have places that he went to get away from the market. There was the woods further up town and Badger liked to hang about near the stream there. It was a peaceful place where he wasn't often disturbed. But he doubted that Socket even knew about it.

No, Socket would never go anywhere that quiet. He'd want to be around people, even after deciding that he didn't want to be around people. That was the sort of person Socket was. If he wasn't immersed in his inventions then he was energetically talking to someone. But if you ruled out the market crowd then there were few other people.

Great Ely was the next place Badger could think of with people they knew. None of them had been that friendly with the crowd up there in the past, but Sean and Charlie had joined the Black Ravens now. And when Badger thought about it, Socket did hang around near Charlie back in the old days. Mostly yapping at his heels and bragging about how great he was. But at the same time Socket always seemed to hate Charlie. It wouldn't make sense for him to go there.

Regardless, Badger didn't have any other leads at the moment, so it couldn't hurt to at least look before ruling it out. He made his way up to North Ely, the street that Charlie was from. Despite all of his bragging, Charlie lived in an unimpressive house on a street filled with similar houses. He was a step above what the Black Ravens could afford, but he still wasn't nearly as rich as he pretended to be. All the same, as Badger came closer to the house his nerves started to give out. If Socket was there it would look like he was spying on them and if he wasn't there then Badger would have to explain the whole situation to Charlie, who had left before it kicked off last night. Badger was far from the best at explaining anything.

After plucking up his courage, Badger knocked on the door. He was greeted by a man who could best be described as 'comfortably well-off'. Undoubtedly Charlie's father. He looked down his nose at Badger.

“Not another one of you market boys,” he said.

“Anotheh one? Does that mean Socket were 'ere talking t' Curl- ...Charlie?” Badger asked.

“I don't know what you call him, but the loud boy was here, yes,” Charlie's dad answered, “He was in quite a state. That sort of... hysteria is a bad influence on Charlie, but against my better judgement I let him stay the night. If you're looking for him then you're too late. They headed off already.”

“Okay then, thanks fer letting me know,” replied Badger.

The man sneered, so Badger didn't stick around to say goodbye and simply headed off back the way he had came. Which was probably rude, but it wasn't as if Charlie's dad had been very polite to him either.

At least now Badger knew where Socket had been last night. Perhaps Charlie's family weren't the nicest people in the world, but at least he was safe there. Now all Badger needed to do was find them both. Maybe they'd gone back down to the market and Badger had just missed them on his way here.

He hadn't gone too far back the way he'd came when something caught his eye though. It was the stream at the corner of Great Ely Street, which came out from a large pipe that ran under some of the buildings. The last time Badger had been there was during his chase of that fake Black Raven, which had turned out to be Crow. He'd even met Charlie back then, who had pointedly implied that Crow knew that tunnel better than most. Crow's past in North Ely was something that Badger had been curious about since learning of it, but had never been able to ask him. Not that thoughts of Crow were what drew him to this place now.

No, the reason it had caught his eye this time was because of a purple chocolate bar wrapper that had been discarded there. Littering was bad enough, but this looked like it could have been dropped recently. Cadbury's chocolate was a treat that not many of the Black Ravens would fork out the cash for, which meant whoever left it there must have been able to afford it and throw the wrapper away without a second glance. Possibly someone like Charlie.

Badger slid down the ledge, trying to be as quiet as he could, and then made his way towards where the stream and small path disappeared into the pipe. Sure enough, he heard voices.

“I still don't think I wanna go back, Curly.” It was Socket. And he sounded as if he was eating as he spoke. Badger allowed himself to settle as he now knew for sure that Socket was all right.

“We've talked about this. You can't stay here sulking forever,” Charlie replied, “Even I, the master of all sulking, know that there's only so long you can stay annoyed with someone.”

“Ya ain't the master o' sulkin'! That's our Crow! A-an'... wait yeah, youse two stayed mad at each other forever, you an' Crow,” argued Socket.

“That's different though. Crow and I don't see each other. We can easily carry on the way we are because there's no reason for us to talk again and, if we can both help it, that's the way it shall stay. But in your case, you're going to have to see all of the Black Ravens again soon, especially Wren. You live with her,” Charlie said.

“Maybe I don't wanna any more...” mumbled Socket.

“You don't mean that,” Charlie soothed.

“Nah... 'course I don't mean that. Wot do ya take me for, some 'orrid little brat 'oo 'ates 'is sister?” Socket asked. When Charlie tactfully didn't answer, Socket went on, “It ain't easy, ya know. I know that I'm right to be worried about 'er. We never needed any stupid school when we lived 'ere an' yet now Wrenny acts like it's the only thing that's important. But look at ya, Curly. Ya went to that school 'ere an' it never did ya any good, did it?”

There was a chuckle from Charlie that echoed through the pipe.

“My parents would flip if they heard you say that. But no, it... didn't work out for me,” Charlie admitted, “However, I do understand what Wren is going through, better than you do, I'd hazard. As soon as I got into secondary school everything became about university. You had to pass some exams so they could figure out what set you were going into and predict your grades. Then you had to pass your mock exams so they could tell where you needed to improve. Then you had to pass the actual exams so they knew if you were smart enough to get into sixth form. At that stage you'd better know exactly what you were going to do with your life, because you had to pick your specialist subjects and study to get into university with them.”

“That sounds like a lotta work... I 'ad no idea there were that many exams. Do they ever stop?” said Socket.

“I didn't stick around long enough to find out, but I assume that once you get past university they boot you out the door and send you off into the world,” answered Charlie.

“Wot 'appened to ya then? I'm only askin' 'cause it might be the same thing for Wren,” Socket checked.

“Well, when I was younger I was completely drawn in by it all. I'd never known anything else. All I had was school and my comics. So I'd study hard during the day, like my parents wanted, then come home and bury myself in super heroes as my escape,” Charlie told him, “Only in my case, I wasn't the same as Wren. From what everyone tells me, she's a genius. But I've never been great at anything – don't you ever repeat this, by the way – just passably all right at some subjects and rubbish at others. I spent half my time worrying that my parents would find out about that and the other half worrying that I'd never get into a university for anything. And I won't do. Only now I know it's not the end of the world that I won't.”

There was a long pause from Socket, then Badger heard a thoughtful chomp on a chocolate bar before he carried on.

“When ya put it that way, it sounds like Wrenny might be okay after all. Since she's super brainy,” mused Socket.

“Part of me thinks that might make it worse for her,” Charlie countered, “From what you told me, it sounds like she pushes herself harder than she should. There's more expectations on her shoulders to do well, because everyone knows what she's capable of. So she's much more likely to hit burnout than I was.”

“Then wot do I do...?” Socket whimpered.

“That's something I don't have the answer to, I'm afraid. I can talk to Wren if you want, share what I went through with her. But we can't be sure that would make a difference,” said Charlie, “However, maybe we could ask Badger what he would do, since he is standing just outside.”

“Wot!”

“What!”

Badger took a few steps backwards, but it wasn't enough to get away from Socket, who barrelled out of the tunnel with a face that was both covered in chocolate and bright red underneath that. A stray wrapper from a Flake bar drifted out of his pocket and down to the ground. That explained the other one then.

“Carrotnose! Wot do ya think ya playin' at, spyin' on us like this!” Socket demanded, “Not th-that there's anythin' t-to spy on! We were just talkin' about Wrenny...!”

“He heard,” Charlie pointed out, as he followed Socket out of the tunnel.

“I weren't spying... I just d-didn't want t' interrupt yers,” Badger assured them.

Socket stared at him angrily for a good few seconds, but then he yielded; “It's fine, Curly. I know that Carrotnose is totally 'armless. No need to get ya knickers in a twist.”

“I wasn't,” Charlie stated.

“But still, ain't like ya to come all the way up 'ere, Badger,” Socket went on, as if Charlie hadn't replied.

“I were looking fer yer. We're all worried,” said Badger.

“There's no need to worry, I'm fine,” Socket insisted.

“Didn't sound fine last night. Or just now,” argued Badger, “Look, we're trying t' 'elp yer.”

“By gettin' me into that stupid school. Don't ya think I've 'eard it all before, Carrotnose?” Socket replied.

“Nah, I doun't care if yer go t' school or not,” assured Badger. And he meant it, “I neveh went t' one and I turned out okay, even if I can't read t' save me life. It's Wren and yer that I'm worried about. All this is bothehing both of yers, so it bothehs me, too.”

“Aww, that's very sweet,” Charlie chimed, before Socket silenced him with a glare.

“Look... that's nice, Carrotnose. I'm proper touched by ya concern an' all, but me an' Curly were just talkin' it out an' I reckon that I got this covahed. I just need to let Wrenny know that even if she messes up on the exams it ain't the end o' the world an' we're still gonna be there for 'er. Then the pressure won't be as bad. That is wot I 'ave to do, right...?” Socket said. He gave them both an earnestly worried look.

“Sounds like a plan t' me,” confirmed Badger.

“That's it settled then. Let's get back to the market,” Socket announced, “An' Curly? Pick those wrappers up. Ya got 'em everywhere!”

“Of course,” purred Charlie.

He bent down to pick up the wrappers that had very clearly been left by Socket (there wasn't so much as a single chocolate smudge on Charlie's perfect-as-usual outfit) and then the three of them climbed back up the bank and onto the path, before they set off back towards the market.

“I'm not sure if Wren will be readeh to talk though. She were with Mal when I left and she looked pretteh upset,” Badger said, tactfully.

“Wrenny is always ready to talk to her brother,” Socket claimed. They all knew that was a lie.

By the time they got to Marilyn's house the streets had become a bit busier. There were a few market stalls set up now and the early traders were indeed catching the worms, in the forms of customers. Business as usual in Misthallery.

Badger had wanted to go in first to check that everything was all right, but Socket barged right past him and through to the kitchen, where Wren and Marilyn were still sat. Badger and Charlie followed along behind him, to the sound of a scraping chair. When they got into the kitchen both siblings were standing staring at each other.

It was a tense moment. None of them could be sure who would explode first.

“I've been really selfish to ya, 'cause I didn't understand what ya were goin' through. An' I'm sorry,” said Socket.

“I'm sorry too,” Wren replied, “I thought what worked for me would work for you too, but we're not the same. So... is everything all right with us?”

Socket shook his head; “Nah, not be a long shot. But that's 'cause we're both better than most people, so we've got a lot more weight on our shoulders than the rest o' these losers.”

“Charmed,” Charlie called out.

“Look... if you don't want to go to school then I won't make you. But I just worry that one day you'll find the one thing that you really want to do and you won't have the qualifications to do it,” Wren said.

“Ya know me, sis, I can never do one thing for too long anyway. If I did find somethin' like that though, then I'd do wot it takes to get myself ready for it. Even if I 'ave to go back to school as an adult. At least I'd 'ave a super smart sister to 'elp me, right?” asked Socket.

Wren reached forward to ruffle his hair; “You'll always have that, Socket.”

“An'... an' same goes for ya! That's wot I wanted to say. That even if everythin' goes wrong with these exams, not that it will, but if it does, then ya always gonna 'ave me an' Mum there for ya. We wouldn't see ya wrong,” promised Socket.

“That's very kind of you to say,” Wren replied, though she didn't sound entirely convinced.

“Certificates aren't the only way to open doors. Sometimes it's who you know and not the piece of paper saying what you know,” Marilyn added, “And you have plenty of people who know what you know, Wren.”

“Yeah, the Black Ravens wouldeh fallen apart years ago if we didn't 'ave yer 'elp with the ideas right at the start,” agreed Badger, “I reckon 'alf of what we take fer granted is things that yer dreamed up.”

“I'm glad you all believe in me...” whispered Wren.

“Wren! Don't cry!” Socket scolded.

“Then you don't cry!” snapped Wren.

“I ain't cryin'!”

“Yes, you are! I can see it running down your cheeks there!”

“S-stop embarrassin' me in front o' Curly!”

And just like that, it was back to normal. Maybe not quite normal, Badger would guess. Part of him worried that Wren would still throw herself back into her studies as soon as they got back to Chillingham and that Socket would struggle to settle on one field long enough to find a job in it. But at least they both knew for sure that they had each other's backs now. Hopefully it would all be easier for them now that the air had cleared.

It wasn't long after that when they all headed out to the base. No one exactly felt like breakfast. After all, Socket had scoffed so much chocolate, Wren and Marilyn might have had breakfast already, Charlie's eating habits were a total mystery and Badger certainly didn't feel hungry after everything that had happened. He was mostly just relieved that they were all okay.

The rest of the Black Ravens were there and getting on with work, presumably under Arianna's orders. Because the best way to stop someone from worrying was to keep them occupied. But as soon as Marilyn's little group came into the auction hall they all stopped what they were doing and rushed over.

“Are you both okay?” Arianna checked.

“Yes, thank you,” Wren said, with a small nod.

“Never better!” Socket claimed.

With that established it was pleasant chats all around, which made Badger happy to see. Still, since he wasn't much for conversation himself, he became a little distracted and ended up looking around the room. He saw Charlie break away from the group and make his way over to Gus, who was standing a little away from the rest of them. Badger wasn't sure he could ever remember these two talking before, so he found himself listening, even if he didn't mean to.

“How's everything?” Charlie quietly asked. Gus did say something in response, but Badger didn't catch it. When Gus was finished, Charlie replied, “That's... a bit of a shame. But don't worry too much about it. Hey, can I look through your notebook again later?”

Badger didn't find out if Charlie got permission or not, because as quickly as that he was being called back over to the rest of them.

“Oi, Earth to Carrotnose! Our leader is talkin' to ya!” called Socket.

“What? Oh, sorreh Arianneh,” Badger, mumbled, turning back to look at them again.

“I was just saying that our newest members aren't very confident is running across the rooftops yet,” Arianna repeated.

“No, I am confident, I just won't do it,” corrected Charlie, from where he was stood next to Gus.

“Yes well, perhaps a demonstration from an expert might inspire them?” Arianna prompted, with a meaningful look at Badger.

And Badger just smiled.

“If yer want an expert, then yer've come t' the right Raven,” he assured.

The rest of the day was spent doing one of the things that Badger loved best – running across the rooftops of the market, dressed as the Black Raven. He had initially been maybe slightly nervous about the others watching, since he wasn't great with audiences, but doing this put him in his element. And part of him was proud to hear the others gasp in awe as he jumped and ran about. For just one day he could pretend that he was Randall Ascot, performing for the crowds of Monte d'Or as the Masked Gentleman. Only Badger liked his costume better than Randall's.

Eventually the others gave it a try, even nervous little Sean, though Tony rarely left his side. The only one who didn't was Charlie, who remained firmly on the ground, cat-calling the others when they slipped up. Badger gave up counting the amount of arguments Socket got into with him about it after five. Poor Socket was just too easy to wind up.

As he ran through the cool breeze that the day had brought them, Badger caught sight of Wren. Her Black Raven hood had fallen back and before she replaced it she let the wind rush through her hair. He could see from the side that she was smiling beneath the mask. For the first time in who knew how long, Wren was at peace.

After seeing that, Badger concluded that bringing them both to Misthallery had been the best medicine they could ask for.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's had a long journey visiting all of his friends, but now it's finally time for Badger to go home and see Crow. But not without some teasing from the others first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Act Four! It's been a slightly shorter act than the others, which I had a feeling would be the case. For a while I considered combining it with Act Five for that reason, but in the end I decided that Badger's tour of England stood best on its own. Next time this fic updates we'll be getting to Act Five, but before that will be another side-story. This one is called 'A Collage in Broken Glass' and is focused around the legendary Alphonse Dalston.

The week went by in what felt like the blink of an eye, but just like his visit to Monte d'Or, it felt as if that was for the right reasons. They'd got through all of the worries and complications, at least as best they could for now, and were left with the time they all wanted to spend together. The Black Ravens always made it through, Badger told himself, with more than a dash of pride.

During the time that he, Wren and Socket were in Misthallery, they'd had many chances to see the new Black Ravens in action, as well as take part in some auctions themselves. Just like old times. And indeed just like old times, Badger found that he clicked into it all so well that he might as well have never left. He wished that he could go back in time to tell himself that there was nothing to worry about, there'd always be a place for him with the Misthallery Black Ravens if nothing else worked out.

And yet...

...there was no Crow.

That was what bothered Badger the most. He'd talked to Crow over the phone a few times, of course, but it had now been more than three weeks since they'd last seen each other. And a selfish part of Badger knew that he'd never truly feel the magic of doing all here this without Crow acting as the ringmaster.

So when the time came for them all to part ways again, Badger knew that he'd be going back to the person he wanted to be with.

“Are yers sure that yer doun't want me t' travel back up with yer for the journey? I doun't mind if yer do,” Badger asked, not for the first time.

“Badger, we're capable of getting a train by ourselves, so don't worry so much,” Wren assured him.

“Those two could probably invent a better train if you left them alone long enough,” added Charlie.

“Ah'reet, just making sure,” concluded Badger. He was secretly quite glad of this answer, since it meant he'd get back to Southampton sooner.

The three travellers were stood at the station entrance with Charlie, Gus and Marilyn. The others had opted to say their farewells back in Misthallery, as work didn't rest for anyone and neither did the Black Ravens. But these three had decided to walk with them all the way to the station in the other town. And now it was late afternoon and time to say goodbye.

“You'll keep writing, won't you?” Wren asked Marilyn.

“Of course. Now that Crow's got in on the writing game we could almost start a pen pal club,” laughed Marilyn.

“That sounds lovely. When are you going to start writing to me?” said Charlie. He gave Socket a nudge with his elbow and Socket recoiled in horror.

“I ain't writin' to ya, Curly! So just get ya 'ead outta the clouds!” Socket shot.

“Oh, that is a shame. Maybe I'll just have to find a man who's good with a pen,” teased Charlie. With that he walked over to Gus, who took a nervous step back.

“That one's taken,” Marilyn warned.

Charlie held his hands up in defeat; “You're all against me!”

“Wait... since when?” gaped Badger.

“Gus and Marilyn are old news now, they've been together for ages,” dismissed Wren.

“I didn't know that! Am I realleh the last to know everything...?” Badger mumbled.

“Would seem so,” said Charlie, with a shrug, “And from what I've heard you're the last one ask out your crush as well.”

“Yer... yer 'eard wrong, reet?” Badger hotly insisted, “Fer yer information, Curly, Crow asked out me and I told 'im no.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Suddenly he had five eager eyes staring at him, all wanting to know the details. If Charlie and Marilyn grinned any wider then their mouths would escape their faces.

“Did you really say no? I thought you liked him,” Charlie pressed.

“I... I mean...” Badger stammered.

“Wot! Since when does Crow ask Badger out? Does Crow think that Badger is proper into men or somethin'? Is... Crow proper into men? I thought that was just Curly,” Socket babbled.

“L-look, when I said...” Badger tried.

“Give him some space, Socket,” scolded Wren, “Though I didn't know about... about Crow. I guess that explains a lot of things... Badger, were you, um, trying to protect me when we talked about it last year?”

“Yes.” At least that was one thing Badger could give an honest answer to.

“W-well... thank you,” Wren mumbled.

Badger instantly felt bad. She looked at least a little upset. All throughout the time that Badger had been hanging out with the siblings, Wren had never made any mention of her old crush on Crow, so he'd kind of forgotten about it. And he knew that Wren had decided it was best to move on from those feelings anyway, but that didn't mean they were gone entirely.

“Look, 'e weren't interested in me back then,” assured Badger, “I would neveh just try to get yer out the way or summit.”

“I didn't think that you would,” Wren replied, “And don't worry. Whatever Crow feels, well, that's his business. And if you like him too then there's no reason why nothing could come of that. Don't let me hold you back. Like I told you before, I'm already over that show off.”

Part of Badger doubted that this was entirely true, but he was glad that Wren wouldn't hold anything that might happen against them. However, he wasn't off the hook with everyone else just yet.

“So why did you say no?” Charlie demanded, looming in with his grin still intact.

“Because... because 'e were rubbish at asking, reet? I told 'im t' go away until 'e got betteh at it,” huffed Badger. He could feel his ears and his nose burning bright red.

“Wow... I'm actually impressed,” Charlie purred.

“Stop bein' so impressed by Carrotnose!” whined Socket.

“What's it to you if I am? Are you jealous?” Charlie teased.

“N-no...! Don't be so daft, I'd never be jealous over somethin' like that! I j-just think that... Badger could do a million miles better than the likes o' you, that's all,” Socket insisted.

“Good thing he's got his sights set on Crow then,” Gus pointed out.

“Curly does not have his sights set on Crow!” snapped Socket.

“He meant me,” Badger corrected, “And speaking of me, that's me train just pulling up. It were great seeing yers all. Sorreh that I can't stick around t' chat much longeh, but I'm sure that we'll meet up again soon.”

As he spoke, Badger was already backing away. At the first opportune moment he would sprint.

“Don't worry, Crow's going to be getting a few letters about this,” hummed Marilyn.

Crow was actually going to kill him. He'd have to get back and explain everything before Marilyn or Wren had a chance to write him a single letter.

“Take care, Badger. We'll see you when you're next up here,” called Gus.

“Y-yeah, bye...!” called Badger.

He gave them all a wave and then sprinted off to his platform, bags in arms. It was a wonder that he didn't drop anything, given how many he had. Part of him still felt a bit guilty about what he'd said to Gus at the start of the week. They hadn't properly talked since then, but if Gus was saying goodbye then hopefully that meant there were no hard feelings.

After he'd climbed onto his train and taken a seat, Badger looked out the window and back at the others. His train was going in completely the opposite direction to what Wren and Socket's was, with theirs arriving about half an hour after his. No doubt the others would keep them company at the station until then. But right now it was Badger who was getting their focus, as everyone waved at him. There was the big waves from Socket, with his full arms going into it, Charlie's best impression of a royal wave, Wren's polite little wave and the other two just waving like... like people who Badger had known for most of his life now. And he was glad to know all of them. As the train pulled away, he felt himself become overwhelmed with emotion.

This was it. He was going back to Southampton. Maybe that place didn't entirely feel like home yet, but after the work that Crow had been doing to it Badger had no doubts that it would do soon.

The funny thing was, once upon a time the train journey from Misthallery to London had felt like a long one to Badger. And Southampton was even further away than London. But now Badger had spent so much time on trains going all over the country that it didn't feel like that much of a trip at all. Not when he knew what was waiting at the other end.

Regardless, it was night by the time that the train pulled into the station there, so perhaps it had been longer than Badger realised.

He stepped out into the streets in something of a daze. Since it was getting into summer now, the air was clear and warm. It couldn't be a further contrast from the dismal day that he and Crow had first arrived on, back before either of them knew for sure that this would be the place. Well, maybe Crow had been sure. It was hard to tell with him.

As Badger walked towards the shop people passed him on the streets. At first he didn't pay this much mind, as what others did was hardly something he should be nosy about, but then he noticed that many of the people were walking together and there were quite a lot of them. It felt like a crowd that was just leaving at the end of a concert or something like that.

“That was splendid!” claimed a large man with a pompadour, who was wearing a pink shirt.

“I'll say it was, sonny. Never had that much fun away from a good puzzle in ages. Wouldn't you agree, Puzzlette?” replied an elderly lady, who looked towards a third person who was with them.

“Nothing can beat a good puzzle, Granny. But that did come close,” answered the lady known as Puzzlette, “We should come back again soon. If we're ever in the same place at the same time. I can't remember the last time we all met up like this.”

“Fortune just came my way to cross paths with the esteemed Granny Riddleton and her charming granddaughter, Puzzlette,” said the man.

“Stop trying to be such a charmer, Aldus,” scolded Granny Riddleton, “And anyway, do either of you know what I'm going to do with a set of silk curtains? I might have got a little carried away with my bidding.”

...Bidding? Bidding meant auctions!

Badger edged around the crowd and then ran full pelt towards the shop. Sure enough, the lights were still on. He could see them through the now much cleaner windows. There were many shapes on the other side the windows, it looked like a well-stocked shop. But that wasn't what Badger was focused on right now. All he wanted to see was that one person.

He pushed the door open. There was the sound of a little bell as he came through. That was something that hadn't been there when he'd left. Crow must have made sure Dalston's workers got every little detail down about this place. And speaking of Crow...

“Auction's ovah for tonight. But come back next week an' I promise we'll 'ave an even bettah one,” came a call from the back room.

“Crow!”

There was a pause, then Crow rushed through to the front of the shop, still half dressed up as the Black Raven. He stared at Badger for a moment. Then they both hurried over to each other and hugged tightly.

“Badge'! Oh, Badgah... Ya didn't say ya were comin' back today,” Crow mumbled, from somewhere near Badger's shoulder.

“Wanted it t' be a surprise,” chuckled Badger. He allowed his head to rest on top of Crow's; “See yer got the place set up. And 'ad an auction without me.”

“Just testin' the watahs, Badge'. I 'ad to 'ave everythin' perfect for when ya got back,” said Crow.

“As long as yer 'ere and yer safe, it's alreadeh perfect t' me,” Badger assured.

And so, even knowing that they both had many stories to tell each other about their time apart, the two allowed themselves to stand there like that, completely at peace, for five minutes more.


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time has gone by, seeing to it that Crow and Badger have settled into their new lives in Southampton. But a phone call from Marilyn finds them both heading out for Misthallery once again, with a lot of surprises waiting for them once they arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of Act Five! This chapter reflects the timeskip that happened during Dalston's side-story and brings us back to the Black Ravens three years after we left off from them at the end of Act Four.

“Are you leaving or what?”

It was a tactless call, directed from Roddy to Crow, who was still upstairs apparently putting the finishing touches on his packing. They all waited a few moments before Crow replied, sounding slightly irate.

“I'll be down in a minute! We're makin' good time, so there's no need to rush.”

Roddy turned back to Badger; “He hasn't changed much, has he? Still just as much of a fusspot as I remember.”

“Mebbe even more so than 'e were back then,” admitted Badger, “But I'm glad 'e agreed t' this all the same. This is the first propeh trip 'e's been on since we moved 'ere.”

“How long ago was that?” Umid asked.

“It'll be three years in a couple o' weeks. Kinda a shame that our shop's anniversary pops up while we're away, but it can't be 'elped,” answered Crow. He'd finally made it downstairs, with more bags than they were ever going to need.

“We'll make sure to celebrate it extra hard on your behalf,” Roddy snorted.

“Ya bettah, Rod. I've already told all the regulahs that we've got a special auction on that evenin',” warned Crow.

“What a pain...” Roddy muttered.

“I believe that a change of scenery will be nice,” Umid said, probably wanting to downplay Roddy's rudeness without realising that him and Crow were more than used to it from each other, “The London auctions can be so hectic, so something quieter will be good for us.”

“Don't expect anythin' too relaxed though or Mrs. Riddleton will take ya by surprise,” said Crow. He was probably a little offended by the comparison between their two very different branches of the Black Ravens.

“We do appreciate the two of yer doing this though,” added Badger, “Are yer sure that the othehs will be ah'reet with yer being 'ere fer so long?”

“Scraps is loving taking charge. Believe me,” Roddy assured him, “And if they need us we're only a phone call away, so it should be fine.”

“If somethin' does turn up an' ya do want us to come back at short notice though...” Crow mumbled.

“Crow, don't start. Go to Misthallery, see our friends, have some fun and forget about your worries for a while,” stated Roddy.

“Okay, okay. Thanks, Rod,” Crow replied, with a sheepish smile.

“Well, unless ol' Crowlo's got any more packing to do, I reckon we're readeh to gan,” said Badger.

“No, that's all my packin' done,” Crow assured, “And I think I gave all the keys an' instructions to the two o' ya.”

“Enough notes to fill up a small diary,” Umid chimed.

“Can nevah be too thorough,” Crow countered, though the wind was removed from his sails.

“Clear off then,” Roddy concluded.

“Doun't need t' tell me twice. Come on then, Crow,” Badger agreed.

He put a gentle hand on Crow's shoulder, having noticed that his gaze was a little distant. Crow might have been putting on a brave face, but Badger knew that this was a big deal for him. London had shaken him more than he admitted to and since then he'd stayed in the little shop that he'd built for them, safe and stable in his work, without leaving for longer than he had to. By contrast, Badger had been to Misthallery a few times to visit the others, though never further north than that, because he felt bad for leaving Crow like this for too long. When Marilyn had called with her news and it was Crow who insisted that they go to visit her, this was a big step for him and Badger wanted to help him through it as best he could.

Crow jolted at the touch, but then looked up at Badger and gave him a small nod. He was ready. They were both ready.

“Call me if ya need anythin'. Promise ya will,” Crow asked Roddy and Umid.

“We will. Now go and have a safe journey,” shooed Umid.

“See yer lateh,” said Badger.

“Yeah, bye guys,” Crow added.

And with that, the two of them were off. Badger had taken this journey enough times for the train trip to be second-nature to him now. He'd arranged most of that part of the trip and when they got there he even directed Crow to the correct platform to wait at, knowing the exact place to stand where their carriage would stop when the train arrived.

The train journey itself went without too much incident. Though Crow lacked the perkiness that he'd had the last time Badger had been on a train with him, when they'd first gone to Southampton. This time he sat and stared almost blankly out of the window. So after a while Badger tried to win him over with some small talk.

“It'll be nice t' see everyone again. Especially yer mam,” he tried.

“Yeah, Mum was so 'appy when I called an' told 'er that we were both comin' up,” Crow replied, “It's great that she let us stay with 'er, since I'm not sure exactly 'ow long we'll be there for. Not too long, mind. Wouldn't wanna put Roddy an' Umid out.”

“Sounds like they'll be fine,” Badger reasoned, “As much as I love Scraps and the othehs, they can all be a little... intense. So I bet they'll be glad of a break from them.”

“Ya probably right about that,” chuckled Crow, “So... wot's everythin' bin like in Mist'allery? I 'ear a lot from their lettahs, but it's bin so long since I've seen 'em all.”

Badger smiled; “When yer get there, yer can find out the answehs t' that one yerself.”

***

It was afternoon by the time they got to the station. Waiting for them there were Charlie and Gus. The former of them lavishly dressed, like he always was, with his hair styled up dramatically and the faintest touch of pale green eyeliner around the rims of his dazzling eyes. Part of Badger wondered if Charlie had dressed up even more impressively than usual, due to the dislike that he and Crow had of each other when they were younger. This was the first time that Crow had seen Charlie since he'd joined the Black Ravens and Charlie probably wanted to make the best impression.

By contrast, Gus looked tired and not nearly as well-kept. He still had the mohawk, but now it was joined by a few bristles on his face. Though it looked more like he'd just forgotten to shave than he was trying to grow a beard or anything. Regardless of how he might have looked though, Gus still smiled warmly at the sight of his friends getting off the train.

“Yer leadeh 'as returned,” announced Badger, once they'd all reached each other.

“That's not our leader,” Charlie dismissed.

“Oh yeah? An' who let ya in on my gang, Curly?” snorted Crow.

“Marilyn did. And you can't argue with her,” Charlie huffed.

“Nah, wouldn't wanna argue with the real leadah. I trust 'er judgement, even if I wouldn't o' picked ya myself,” Crow agreed, “Though I do admit that it took me by surprise when she first wrote to me about ya joinin'.”

There was a silent exchange of knowing glances between the other three. In all this time no one had told Crow that the mantle of leader for the Misthallery Black Ravens had been shifted from Marilyn to Arianna. It might have been cruel, but both women had wanted to see the look on Crow's face and Badger couldn't deny them that.

“I take a lot of people by surprise, that's my hobby,” Charlie bragged.

“Thought ya 'obby was sittin' up in ya room by yaself, readin' those comics,” said Crow.

“Oh please, I have friends now,” corrected Charlie, “And besides, I have much better comics to read these days than the ones I obsessed over back then.”

“L-let's get your bags to the car. Bet you're both tired after the trip,” Gus suggested, without giving Charlie a chance to elaborate on what he meant by that comic statement.

“Ya got a car?” asked Crow. He sounded impressed.

“No, the car is my father's. He begrudgingly let us borrow it to come pick you up. Provided I wiped 'that muck' off my face. Which I didn't, but here we are anyway,” Charlie answered, “And Gus is the only one of us who has a license up to now, so he had to drive.”

“That's great about the license. Congrats, Gus,” Crow praised.

“Thanks. There's never been much call for one in Misthallery, since most of the town is cut off for cars. But I figured that it might be useful to learn anyway, since you never know when you might need it,” said Gus.

“And I can tell yer that I'm glad not t' need t' take that walk from 'ere t' Mist'allereh,” Badger cheered, “It's ah'reet sometimes, but fer now I just want t' get int' town and see everybodeh.”

“You'll see them all soon enough,” Charlie promised, “Now let's get a move on.”

Between the four of them it didn't take long to get their bags out of the station and into the boot of Charlie's dad's car. Even with all of the needless extra baggage that Crow had brought. Charlie made a joke that there wouldn't be room in Maureen's house for all of this, but Crow assured him that it was nothing his mum wasn't used to. From when Badger had briefly lived there, he knew that this was indeed true. Crow's hoarding habit was nothing new to her.

Once that was out of the way, they all got into the car and made the short drive back to Misthallery. Thanks to the Golden Garden being made accessible to the public, there was now a decent car park just outside of town, with a dedicated residential area. So Gus merely pulled up into one of the spaces there and the four of them were set to go.

“This is it...” whispered Crow, as they got out of the car. He stared up at the misty town they'd once called home in a strange sort of awe.

“It hasn't changed much,” Charlie assured him, “Same old restaurant, same old market, same old house on the hill.”

“But the people 'ave changed a lot,” Badger said.

“That's just life though,” Charlie dismissed, “Most of the changes are probably for the best.”

“I want to believe ya right about that,” Crow admitted.

With that, the four of them made their way into the town and then through to their beloved market. Since they had so much with them, it made sense to go to Maureen's house first. Gus and Charlie helped them with the bags up to the door, but they knew that Crow seeing his mum again was personal. So after that they made an excuse to head off.

“Need to let everyone know you're here so they can get ready,” Gus said.

“That Tony can be a real diva if he doesn't have time to prepare himself for guests,” Charlie joked.

And with that they were off. Crow hesitated at the door for a moment, but Maureen pulled it open before he could even knock. She looked down at Crow, then up at Badger and her face broke out into a wide smile. She lurched forward to grab them both in a tight hug.

“My boys have come back to me!” she cried.

“Leave it off, Mum. Ya embarrassin' me,” laughed Crow.

“I'll have none of that,” Maureen sniffed, as she pulled away to look at them once more. There were tears in her eyes; “You leave me for more than three years, Thomas, and then dare to get in a mood about your old mum embarrassing you. Even Simon here has visited more than you have, bless his heart!”

“Ya told 'er that ya called Simon?” Crow asked Badger. He looked betrayed.

“She wormed it outteh me last time I stayed. Yer definitely got yer knack fer an argument from 'er, Crowlo,” whined Badger.

“Simon is a lovely name,” Maureen insisted, “I still don't understand why you insist on using these animal names at your age, but whatever keeps you boys happy. Now come in, I've got dinner ready for you both.”

That made Crow's eyes light up, though Badger didn't exactly share his enthusiasm. It wasn't that Maureen was a bad cook, but her portions were always much bigger than stick-thin Badger could manage. Crow definitely didn't have the same problem though and was more than glad to get back to his mum's cooking after a few years away from home.

The three of them sat around the table together, Badger watching as Crow and Maureen chatted together, catching up on everything that had happened since they'd left. A lot of what Crow was saying she'd already heard from Badger on previous visits, but she was probably happy just to get to talk to her son in person again. He'd written to her and phoned her many times, but for him to actually be here was a big deal for them both.

Badger picked at the food, eating enough to be polite. Which wasn't an issue, because Crow finished off everything that he left. Maureen laughed and said that she had no idea where Crow put it all, a sentiment that Badger privately shared.

They must have been sat at the table for at least an hour, talking long after all the food had gone, before there was a knock at the door.

“You might as well get that, love. I bet it'll be one of your little friends,” Maureen prompted.

With that, both Crow and Badger headed to the door to find out who had come to see them.

Trembling on the other side of the door was Sean, the other newest member of the Black Ravens besides Charlie. Over the years Sean had grown a bit, he was taller than Crow now, but not nearly as tall as Badger. However, in all the times that Badger had come here it seemed that he'd never gotten any less nervous. Even these days he still mostly clung to Tony and stayed in the background of what the Black Ravens did. So it was a surprise to see that he'd come here on his own.

“W-we're ready f-for you in the b-base now...” he stuttered.

“Thanks, Sean,” Badger replied, “So who's there then?”

“Um, T-tony, Arianna, Gus a-and Charlie are there, I think,” Sean answered.

“No Marilyn?” Crow asked.

The unintentional sharpness of his voice made Tony jump; “Not t-today, no... She wanted to s-stay at home and rest.”

“Makes sense. I'll just tell Mum we're goin' out an' then we'll come along with ya,” said Crow.

He ducked back into the house, leaving Badger on the doorstep with Sean.

“Do you th-think he's okay w-with me being a B-black Raven...?” Sean checked.

“Yeah. If 'e weren't then yer wouldeh 'eard about it by now. Just ask Curly,” Badger assured him, “Sorreh that 'e weren't too chatteh with yer, but 'e's gotteh lot on 'is mind reet now.”

“It's okay, I understand...” Sean mumbled.

With that, Crow appeared once again and stepped out into the street, gesturing for Badger to follow.

“Right, Mum know that we'll be out 'til late. Nothin' to worry about there,” he told them, “So lead the way, Moley.”

Sean's eyes lit up. It seemed that being given an actual Black Raven nickname from the actual Crow was exactly what he needed. He nodded so fast that it was a wonder his head didn't drop off, then he darted away along the route that both Crow and Badger knew very well.

“Weren't Moley the name yer were ganna give Gus before 'e told yer no?” Badger whispered, once Sean was far enough away.

Crow shrugged; “It's a good name. I wanted to use it for someone, even if Gus didn't want it. Besides, I think it suits 'im bettah than Gus.”

It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the base. This evening it was Tony guarding the manhole that led to the underground, though this time he abandoned his post to come down with them into the base. None of them minded, since there were no auctions scheduled for tonight and they were unlikely to be interrupted.

All along the tunnel Sean talked excitedly about his new nickname to Tony, as if Crow and Badger weren't there. Tony just chuckled and nodded his head, congratulating him on it. A quiet smile Badger shared with Crow said what they were both thinking – that Tony had grown and matured a lot since he'd joined the Black Ravens.

At the end of the tunnel Gus was waiting for them in front of the large door. He pushed it open for them and let everyone inside, to where Arianna and Charlie were waiting on stage. Crow walked confidently towards them and Badger held his breath. Neither of those two were Crow's favourite people, after all.

“This wot they're lettin' on my stage these days?” he joked.

“Goodness, Arianna, look at what the sewer has dragged in,” Charlie tutted.

“It's been a long time, Crow,” said Arianna. She gave him a small bow, her eyes never leaving his.

“Wot's with the clipboard?” Crow asked.

“Got to keep everything in order. These auctions don't run themselves, you know,” answered Arianna.

“I nevah needed no clipboard when I was 'ere. Seems too... official for my likin',” Crow sniffed.

“And yet your meticulous sales records are legendary,” retorted Arianna.

“Fair point. So I'll stick to 'em an' ya can keep ya clipboard,” Crow stated.

“That I will. Anyway, it's nice to see that you and Badger have come back to visit us. Will you be taking part in any auctions while you're here?” Arianna checked.

“If Marilyn will 'ave me, then sure,” replied Crow, “Speakin' of... I don't wanna undahmine anyone else, but... 'ow is she doin'?”

“She's... she's doing as well as she can do,” Gus said, “If you want, I can take you both to her place afterwards. I think she'd like that.”

“Yeah, I'd like that an' all,” Crow agreed, “But first I wanna check out the store room an' see wot kinda mess the lot o' ya 'ave left it in.”

He hopped up onto the stage and disappeared through the back without another word. Everyone went quiet for a moment, then suddenly Charlie clutched his hands together in a begging position and stared at Arianna.

“Oh pleeease! Can we tell him? I've been waiting years for him to find out,” he whined.

Arianna smirked; “No, patience is what's needed. We've waited so long that another day or two won't matter. If he doesn't find out about me my the time the next auction's over then we can just come out with it.”

“Fiiine...” Charlie sighed.

It wasn't long after that when Crow's head popped around the door again. He was frowning slightly, an admission of defeat.

“All right, ya do 'ave some nice lookin' stock back 'ere,” he admitted, “But it ain't wot ya 'ave so much as it's 'ow much ya can sell it for.”

“You can find that out at the auction,” assured Arianna, “If you're okay with watching one before you take part yourself.”

“Sounds good to me. I wanna see 'ow all o' ya get on before I step in to 'elp,” Crow agreed.

“We actually have a bit of inventory to see to before we head off for tonight,” Tony said, “You're welcome to stay if you want, but it might be boring for you.”

“Inventory's nevah borin' for me,” corrected Crow, “But I do wanna stop in to see Marilyn, so maybe we should get a move on. Are ya all right with that, Badge'?”

“Sounds like a plan,” confirmed Badger.

“Let's get going then,” Gus prompted, “We'll see you guys later.”

They all said their goodbyes to each other, then Gus, Crow and Badger left the hall. It didn't take them long to head back through the tunnel and up out onto the streets. Then they carefully replaced the manhole cover and made their way to Marilyn's house.

“We 'aven't talked to ya much about this, Gus. This 'as gotta be as big a deal for ya as it is for Marilyn,” Crow said, as they walked.

Gus bit his lip for a moment. He seemed pale. In that moment Badger could see the quiet, nervous Gus he once knew bubble back up to the surface, replacing the confident Gus that had come from years of practise. But all the same, when Gus spoke he made it sound as if he was fine.

“No, there's no way this could affect me as much as Marilyn. O-of course it does affect me! This whole thing is huge a-and both of our families have made adjustments for it. But it's Mari I feel the most sorry for,” he said, not meeting their eyes.

“Ya make this sound like it's 'orrible,” replied Crow.

“It... wasn't planned,” Gus answered.

“When it come to Marilyn, everythin' is planned,” debated Crow.

“Well this wasn't,” Gus firmly insisted.

“We're 'ere” Badger cut in.

With that, Crow bounded up to the door and pulled it open as if he lived there, leaving Badger and Gus to follow in his wake as he dashed into the house. Badger felt a tinge of embarrassment as they went by the living room, where Marilyn's parents were, but Gus just waved hello to them and they nodded, smiling warmly. They were probably used to Marilyn's friends coming to visit by now, so two from out of town wouldn't make that much difference.

Crow had gone upstairs now, so they followed him through to Marilyn's room. And there she was, sat up on her bed, as if she had been waiting for them. And knowing Marilyn she probably had been. When Crow climbed up on the bed to sit next to her she laughed at him.

“Anyone would think you haven't seen me for years,” she said.

“I 'aven't seen anyone o' ya for years,” answered Crow, “Sorry we didn't get 'ere soonah, but I wanted to check in with everyone else first.”

“You wouldn't be Crow if you didn't do that,” Marilyn dismissed, “But I'm glad you made time for me.”

“Always would,” Crow replied. He held his hands out above her stomach, “So... can I?”

“Might as well. Everyone else has,” she said.

With that, Crow reached out to put his hands on the bump, rubbing at it softly. After a moment, his visible eye widened in surprise.

“I think it kicked me!” he gasped.

“He does that to everyone. Probably means that he's fed up with you,” Marilyn teased.

“Takes aftah 'is mum then,” said Crow, “So 'ow far along are ya?”

“Eight months. Could drop any day now,” Marilyn answered.

“Then why did ya wait so long to call us about it?” Crow whined.

“We... knew that you'd make a fuss,” Gus carefully replied.

“O' course I'd make a fuss! This is only the first Black Raven baby that we've evah 'ad. I've come up with a list o' nicknames a mile long for this kid,” informed Crow.

“We'll be naming our own kid, thanks,” Marilyn snorted.

“Just one little nickname...” whimpered Crow.

“No,” concluded Marilyn, “We didn't take your nicknames and neither will our son. Have your own kid, then you can name it whatever you want to.”

“Um, 'e gave Sean a nickname,” Badger said, to distract from that line of conversation.

“Bet he was over the moon with that,” Marilyn guessed, “He's been so eager to meet Crow and gain his approval about being a Black Raven.”

“Sean seems to be all right,” Crow said, with a shrug, “Better choice than Curly, anyway.”

“You'll change your mind when you see him on stage,” reasoned Gus.

“In that outfit?” Badger reminded.

“Wot outfit? Only the Black Raven is allowed to do auctions,” warned Crow.

“Don't worry, he isn't anything but the Black Raven,” said Marilyn. Technically, she wasn't lying.

“I'll see eithah way. But I didn't come 'ere to talk about Curly,” Crow insisted.

“Might as well. There's not much more to say about me being pregnant,” dismissed Marilyn.

“Not much more to say! Mal, this is only the biggest deal evah! That's a little bundle o' life changin' joy ya got in there,” Crow wailed.

“Told you he'd make a bigger deal out of it than we did,” Marilyn laughed.

“Never doubted you for a moment,” Gus agreed.

“Badge', we're stayin' 'ere until this baby drops. Then we're gonna be the best babysittahs it's evah 'ad,” Crow proclaimed.

“Wait a minute, Crow. This morning yer were saying that yer didn't want t' put Roddeh and Umid out more than we needed t' and now yer wanting t' stay 'ere until Mal's 'as 'er babeh?” Badger reminded.

“I don't have a due date, so you could be here for ages equally as much as you could only be here until tomorrow,” Marilyn added.

“Won't be more than a month though, if ya eight months in. My mind's made up,” insisted Crow.

“Badger, please talk sense into him,” Gus asked.

“If I could do that then I'd 'ave done it long ago,” Badger assured him.

“Ya make it sound like I'm bein' unreasonable,” argued Crow, “Look, if ya dunno when the baby'll be born then it might 'appen as soon as a few days or a week. An' we'll be 'ere that long anyway. So it's not like that would change anythin'.”

“Fine, do what you want. But the lot of you can clear off for now, because the baby says I need the toilet again and I'm not talking to you through the bathroom door,” Marilyn huffed.

She went to pull herself up from the bed and instantly Gus was there. He helped her walk out, with Crow and Badger awkwardly trailing behind. Once she was at the bathroom, Gus backed away and she pulled the door closed behind herself.

“It's not that she means to be rude, but these things can come over very suddenly,” Gus whispered.

“Nah, it's wot we'd expect,” Crow assured, “Guess we'll see ourselves out.”

“I'll come with you,” said Gus.

“Not stayin'?” Crow checked.

“Mari would probably prefer it if I didn't, so I'll just head home for now. It's fine, we'll all see each other tomorrow. She's still along at the market most days,” Gus replied.

“I 'ope she ain't workin' too 'ard with that baby in 'er. She should be restin' all the time,” pressed Crow.

“She'd clout yer if she 'eard yer say that,” Badger sighed.

“Probably. All right, I'll back off. But ya can't blame me for bein' excited,” said Crow.

“Be excited tomorreh then. Reet now we're gan back t' yer mam's place t' get some rest,” insisted Badger.

“Sounds like a plan,” Crow agreed.

With that, the three of them headed out of Marilyn's house and into the darkening streets of Misthallery. Gus headed off towards his own house, saying goodbye to them quickly before disappearing. Part of Badger felt like there was more to this story than they knew, but at least if Crow was serious about staying until the baby was born they might have plenty of time to find out. It wasn't that he was nosy, he was just worried about his friends.

As they followed the route back to Maureen's house he looked at Crow, who was smiling brightly and walking with a swagger that suggested he was completely comfortable once more. It was a total contrast to earlier today, when he'd seemed quietly nervous about coming here. Even if he was being over-the-top about the baby, Badger was glad to see him in his element once more.

So as their first day back in Misthallery drew to a close, Badger could only wonder what the ones that followed would bring.


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they settle into their first full day back in Misthallery, Badger and Crow see an auction and learn that Gus has an unexpected hobby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usually when I'm coming up with where the NPCs live for this fic I tend to base it on where we see them appear in the game and where I think it'd make sense for them to live. But in the case of Sean, his profile directly says that he lives in Highyard Hill. So thanks for making it easy for me, Sean.

That night they slept in Crow's old room, in exactly the same beds that they had done back when Badger was living with them for a while. And by 'beds' that meant one was a bed and the other was a mattress on the floor, which Badger was currently occupying. Crow had protested that Badger was the guest, so he should have the real bed, but Badger merely snorted at that suggestion and pointed out that Crow's bed was the perfect size for Crow (who hadn't grown very much, a fact Badger didn't mention), whereas Badger was now too tall for either bed or mattress. So at least the mattress would be more comfortable, given that he wouldn't have to worry about hitting his legs off the wooden frame of the bed.

When morning came around, Badger was awake before Crow, as usual. He looked down at where his own feet were sticking out at the bottom of the mattress and mused that, while this had also been the case the last time he'd stayed here, he had grown even more since then. Most people told Badger that it was his confidence that had grown, whereas his height was just something everyone was used to, so he didn't think about it that much. But being here again made it hard to ignore.

By the time Crow started to stir, Badger could already hear Maureen downstairs in the kitchen. No doubt she was making something for breakfast and Crow wasted no time in finding out. He jumped out of bed and motioned for Badger to follow him.

Luckily for Badger, today's breakfast was only egg and soldiers. After yesterday's big dinner, Badger didn't think he could handle more than that, but this breakfast was fine.

“Didn't want to go overboard,” Maureen told them, “I thought you might be going out with your friends today, so maybe you'd stop in at Paddy's to get something. Or at someone's house.”

“We don't 'ave anythin' planned just yet, except that we're gonna visit 'em later,” replied Crow, “But we'll probably go to Paddy's sometime while we're 'ere.”

“It's nice up that way. And as far as restaurants go, not too expensive,” said Maureen, “I guess with how steady the Garden keeps business, no one needs to charge that much these days.”

Crow paused for a moment, as if he was thinking something over. Then he carefully asked, “So 'ave... 'ave ya bin getting' out much these days, Mum?”

“Look at you, worrying about your old Mum!” scoffed Maureen. She reached across the table to ruffle Crow's hair; “But yes, I get out now more than I used to. Some people are still a bit funny with me, but... well, all your friends are very nice, Tom, I don't know why you didn't want me to talk to them when you were a kid. And some of their parents are talking to me more these days as well. That friend of yours, Marilyn, gosh her folks are so proud! When are you going to bring me back a grandchild, poppet?”

“Mum!” Crow whined.

“I'm only joking, dear. You know that!” Maureen laughed.

“Well, Badge' don't need ya embarrassin' 'im like that,” huffed Crow.

“Doun't bring me int' this,” Badger warned.

Maureen piped up; “So does that mean there's something going on between-”

“Speakin' o' babies, do ya think Marilyn's bin all right?” Crow quickly cut in, “No one's talked much about it since we arrived.”

“Seems to be,” Maureen answered, with a shrug. She came across a little dejected to be denied the chance to find out what was going on between Crow and Badger. Admittedly, Badger was as well. But he refocused as Maureen went on, “It was a shock for everyone. I don't think they wanted people to know at first, but you know what it's like in small towns. Got to say, out of all the young ladies around here I wouldn't have put my money on Marilyn being the first to have a baby.”

“She must know wot she's doin'...” mumbled Crow, though even he was starting to sound doubtful about that.

“Thomas, believe me, no one knows what they're doing when they first have a child. Even if they think they do,” assured Maureen, “But her and that Gus are both very bright and caring, so I'm sure they'll figure it out.”

“I 'ope so,” said Crow.

“No use moping around here about it. You two boys want to get out there and see your friend while the morning's young,” instructed Maureen.

She got up to clean the plates off the table, taking Crow's away before he was even finished. Then, after putting everything in the sink, she shooed at them to get up and go.

“All right, we're 'eadin' off,” Crow muttered.

“Are yer sure we can't 'elp with the dishes, Missus Carr?” Badger asked.

“You're such a sweetheart, Simon. Much kinder than this lump of a son I have. But no, I could never ask a guest to do that. You just go out and enjoy yourself,” she assured.

“See ya later, Mum,” Crow called. He was already waiting in the hallway for Badger.

“Y-yeah, bye Missus Carr,” added Badger.

“Bye, boys. And please, do call me Mum, Simon. None of this Mrs. Carr nonsense,” Maureen called.

“Reet!” Badger promised. Not for the first time.

With that they headed out into the market. As soon as the door had closed behind them, Crow spun in the direction of Marilyn's house, but Badger grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Give 'er some space, Crow,” he insisted.

“But... I just wanna make sure everythin's all right,” protested Crow, “And besides, she'll have been awake for ages by now anyway. This is Mal we're talkin' about.”

“Yeah, but she doun't need yer fussing about 'er like a motheh 'en. We can see 'er lateh when we go t' the base,” Badger said.

“Fine, I'll drop it for now,” conceded Crow, “So... where do ya wanna go this mornin', Badge'?”

Badger thought for a moment, then said, “What about the little wood with the stream? Up by where the fish scientist used t' work and the old shack were?”

“Ya like it up there. Sure then, let's go there,” Crow replied, with a smile.

That place had always been special to Badger. It had been his hiding spot away from the world back when he was younger, somewhere quiet were he felt safe and secure. As well as that, it had been the place where Crow had asked Badger to join him when he went to London. That had been the first time Badger had properly felt as if Crow had wanted to stay with him. Even if London itself hadn't worked out, the two of them had endured and that meant a lot to Badger.

He wasn't sure if the woods meant quite the same thing to Crow, but he hoped that it did. M-maybe if they went there it m-might... prompt Crow to finally ask again about... them.

A lump formed in Badger's throat and he'd tried to swallow it back.

There was no denying that since Crow confessed his own feelings and Badger had turned him down that the two of them had been oddly closer. They both knew that the feelings were there now. So the hugs and the hand-holding happened. Most of their neighbours in Southampton assumed they were a couple and they'd never done anything to deny that rumour. But at the same time they weren't together. Not for real. Crow had to ask properly and they both knew that.

The walk up Misthallery was a pleasant one, with the two of them in good spirits. Badger started to daydream that even if Crow hadn't planned to come to the woods with him, that he might take advantage of the situation and ask anyway. If he did, then Badger couldn't see himself saying anything other than yes. Not this time.

Unfortunately for Badger, they didn't get that far. They'd only just reached one of the crossroads when they came across Tony and Arianna, both heading down to the market.

“Where are you two off to then?” Tony asked, grinning widely.

“Nowhere!” Badger yelped. Then he covered his mouth. They truly weren't up to anything suspicious and now he's gone and made it awkward. Tony's wicked smile had taunted it out of him!

“If you're not doing anything then why don't you come with us?” suggested Arianna. She seemed oblivious to Badger's discomfort or anything Tony might have been implying; “We were just heading to the base anyway.”

“We would, but...” Crow started. Before he could say any more he looked over at Badger and Badger shook his head. The moment had gone. So Crow nodded and continued, “...Actually, yeah. We wanna see an auction anyway. So are ya settin' up for one today?”

“There'll be an auction this evening,” replied Arianna, “I hope that we can impress the great Crow with what we've been doing.”

So the four of them made their way back into the market and down to the underground base. It seemed that all of the others were already there, even Sean, who surprisingly must have come down from Highyard Hill on his own. And although their leader was one of the last to arrive, everyone already seemed to know where they needed to be and what they needed to be doing. Arianna must run a tight ship.

“Morning, you lot,” called Marilyn, from where she was sat repairing a chair cushion on the stage.

“Wot are ya doin' 'ere like this?” said Crow, “Ya should be restin'!”

“Leave it off, Crow. Marilyn won't let anyone tell her to rest, not even Gus,” called Charlie.

He was sat on a seat in one of the rows of chairs that surrounded the stage, next to Gus, who seemed to be scribbling in a notebook. Badger regarded them both for a moment. Over the times that he'd been here visiting, Badger had noticed that Charlie and Gus seemed to have become good friends, though he didn't know more about the matter than that. He'd wanted to ask them about it sometime, but it had always seemed rude. When Charlie joined the Black Ravens it was hard to know who he would get along with, but Gus had never been someone who Badger would have guessed to become best buddies with him.

While Badger was thinking about this, the others carried on talking.

“He's right, you know. I'd go stir-crazy if I didn't have this to keep me occupied,” Marilyn said, “Sometimes the baby does get a bit much to manage, but right now he's settled.”

“She's here so often that I might put bets on about the baby dropping in this very auction hall,” teased Charlie.

“Don't even joke about that,” sighed Gus.

It seemed as if the unusual duo had now caught Crow's attention as well. He walked over to where Charlie and Gus were sat, so Badger followed along behind him.

“Wot ya writin' there, Gus?” Crow asked.

“Nothing!” squeaked Gus, instantly slamming the notebook shut.

“Oh, come on, Gus. Everyone else knows about it by now,” prompted Charlie.

“Only because you've told everyone...” Gus muttered.

“You should be proud of what you make,” Marilyn called over, from up on the stage.

“But... it's so... strange,” Gus protested, weakly.

“I don't think it's strange,” Marilyn reasoned, “And you have Charlie hanging off every issue.”

“Issue...?” Badger mumbled, now completely lost.

Gus looked up at them, then he looked between Charlie and Marilyn, before inevitably giving up. He carefully opened the notebook again, flipping through pages and pages of drawings. He didn't stop on any long enough for Badger to make out what was going on, but he could tell that they were comic pages of some sort.

“Aren't they amazing?” chimed Charlie.

“They're nothing. Just some doodles I do when I'm stressed,” Gus insisted.

“And luckily for me, this whole pregnancy matter has had him as stressed as he could possibly get,” Charlie purred, as if he wasn't talking about something serious that was affecting two of his friends, “I've gotten so invested in the will-they won't-they romance between Tim and Si, but Gus used to take forever to finish new comics about them. Now he's pumping them out like no one's business.”

“Tim and Si?” checked Badger.

“They're no one,” Gus mumbled, “Just stupid characters.”

“Look at how cute they are together! They're totally meant to be,” demanded Charlie.

He took the notebook from Gus and flicked to a page with a large drawing of the two characters gazing into each other's eyes. It wasn't like anything Badger had ever seen before. When he was a kid, the only comics he'd seen were the Beanos that Socket used to pick up sometimes or those American superhero comics that Charlie was into. He couldn't read them himself, but the pictures had looked nice. These characters... it wasn't that they didn't look good, but Badger couldn't understand what was going on with them. They both had massive eyes, pointy faces and long, flowing hair that seemed to be blowing about in the breeze. Behind them, the background was filled with giant rose petals, without any explanation as to why.

“Why are their 'ands so big?” asked Crow.

“It's the style!” Charlie hissed.

“Honestly, I'm just not very good at drawing hands” admitted Gus.

“Nah, these look great, Gus,” Badger said, “I dunno what's gan on in them, but they look very pretteh.”

“They're not that good. Other people can draw much better than me,” Gus dismissed.

“Not in Mist'allery, I'll bet,” reasoned Crow, “So 'ow long 'ave ya bin doin' this for?”

“I guess a bit more than three years,” Gus replied, “I used to do it sometimes before that, but I never thought that it was something I should be wasting my time on when there was work to be done. Then Charlie joined us and he saw me drawing one time... the rest is history.”

“I like to think of myself as his coach,” bragged Charlie, “There's even this contest in one of the comics I read, for aspiring young future creators, but I can't get Gus to enter it.”

“That would be going too far,” Gus stated, “It's all very well me drawing these for my friends, but no one else wants to see them. And Mari and me have a kid on the way, so I need to be keeping my feet on the ground about doing proper work.”

“This could be proper work...” Charlie weakly protested.

“I don't mean to be rude, but whether it is or not, it isn't the work you're supposed to be doing now,” Arianna injected, “Don't you all want to get this auction ready to impress Crow?”

“Yes, ma'am!” grumbled Charlie.

He made a show of pulling himself up out of the seat, but once he was up it became clear that he was eager to get on. Showing up Crow was something that Charlie didn't get the chance to do often. Gus took his notebook back from the seat where Charlie had left it, closed it again and put it away in his pocket before anyone could ask any more questions about the love lives of Tim and Si or why they lived in a world populated by giant roses.

“Can me an' Badge' give anyone any 'elp?” checked Crow.

“Not at all,” Marilyn answered, “You can step into the next one if you want, but for now we want it to be all about us. And we can't show you what we can do without you if you step in.”

“Fair enough then,” agreed Crow, “Let's just sit back an' watch, Badge'.”

***

Sitting back and watching lasted until the auction itself, later that evening. Throughout the day they'd both hung around, talking to the others when they weren't busy and seeing what was happening. But when the time of the auction arrived, they both already had front-row seats before any of the guests had even arrived.

They tried not to make it too obvious, keeping mostly out of sight until the first throng of people were into the hall, then making their way over to some vacant chairs with a good view of the stage.

As the room filled up, it was clear how successful the auctions still were. This was something that Badger had seen in the other times that he'd visited, but for Crow it was his first time at a Misthallery auction since he'd left and knowing they drew such a large crowd put him at ease. Arianna had told them earlier that they keep to the format of having auctions for everyone in the underground hall and a few times a month do a special auction up at Barde Manor. But the underground auctions were more the kind that Crow remembered, so it seemed fitting they sit through one of those first.

Badger couldn't stop himself from checking Crow's reaction as everything went on around them. There was a mixture of old and new in how the auctions were presented and this had Crow's curiosity. He sat up straight when the lights dimmed and were replaced with pale blue spotlights, which focused on the stage.

After a moment for everyone to take in a breath, Arianna walked out onto the stage. She was not dressed as the Black Raven, but instead wore an elegant, deep blue dress that trailed behind her. She stared out into the crowd with a challenging and piercing gaze.

“Welcome once again, to our hidden auctions,” she began, “I trust that the evening finds you well and that my good friend the Black Raven has brought along many items that will be of interest to you. I will pass you over to him in just a second. But before that, does anyone have any questions about the auctions or how they work?” She paused, but luckily it seemed that Crow and Badger had come on a night where there were no new-comers, so no one had any questions about the bidding. Once the moment had passed, Arianna continued, “...Very well then. I take it that you all go into this knowing what you are doing. So without further ado, I shall surrender the stage to the ever watchful, Bejewelled Raven.”

“The wot Raven?” gasped Crow.

Badger had to grab hold of Crow's arm to stop him from jumping out of his seat. And the matter was made only worse when Arianna walked down from the stage and to her seat, only to be replaced by Charlie, who came out from behind the curtain dressed as his version of the Black Raven. Which, when you got down to it, wasn't too big of a departure from the original. But it had taken Badger by surprise the first time he'd seen it and the reaction was even bigger from Crow, who had lovingly created and maintained his own image of the Black Raven for so many years. Charlie's Bejewelled Raven, with its sparkly sequins that caught the light and glittered in that perfect way, was not what he'd had in mind.

The only advantage was that the shock seemed to render Crow temporarily speechless. So at least Badger didn't have to worry about him shouting out to Charlie. Instead Crow folded back into his seat and fidgeted around uncomfortably, as he tried to come to terms with this in his head.

“Greetings, my pretties,” Charlie began, in his own version of the Black Raven's voice, “Welcome to my abode once again. Fortunate am I, that you make time for me. I will be sure to make it worth your while.”

“That Curly's gonna 'ave some explainin' to do when this is ovah...” muttered Crow, having finally found his voice.

“Yer like it realleh,” Badger said, wanting to be cruel.

He didn't get a reply to that, which he wasn't sure if he should take as a good thing or not. Crow sat in critical silence for the rest of the evening, his eyes fixed on the mask of the Bejewelled Raven like he was hanging on Charlie's every word. Part of Badger expected him to bid at some point, but he didn't. Maybe to Crow, staying out of it had meant truly staying out of it this time. Which was an improvement from the last time he'd promised them he'd not get involved in an auction.

The evening ended on a good profit. Badger didn't even need to tell Crow the figures for him to know that, but he nodded along all the same when he heard them. Then they sat together, pretending to talk casually as the other guests left the hall to either pick up their winnings from out the front or head off through the tunnel and back up into the night.

This part of the auction was just as important as the stage show, so both of them were happy to wait around until the others were ready. It would give them all a chance to get changed and-

...and Charlie walked out from behind the curtain still, dressed up as the Bejewelled Raven, the moment all the guests had left the hall. So much for getting changed.

“Like it?” he asked, as he gave a little twirl.

“Ya ruined the Black Raven! That's... that's an iconic look ya just gone an'... tipped glittah onto!” wailed Crow.

“You can't get enough of it really. That's why you couldn't stop looking at me,” Charlie purred.

“In 'orror!” Crow corrected.

“Yeah!” Badger needlessly added, to back Crow up.

He hadn't felt strongly about the whole thing before, but suddenly he didn't like whatever it was that Charlie was implying. Surely Crow didn't like looking at the Black Raven being jazzed up like that, even if it was being worn by someone admittedly very pretty... Oh no, he shouldn't start thinking like that.

“If you want to be like that, then it's your loss,” said Charlie, seemingly unfazed, “But the audience loves it.”

“He's right,” Marilyn added, as she stepped out from the back to join them, “We don't let him do that every night, but his version of the Black Raven has proven very popular. A lot of guests turn up for the excitement of seeing if it'll be the regular one or Charlie's.”

“There shouldn't be any othah versions. There's only one true Black Raven,” Crow grumbled.

“You say that knowing you can't stop us,” Charlie claimed. He was taking off the mask now, which ruined the image ever so slightly, but wearing that mask for so long definitely wasn't a lot of fun, so Badger couldn't blame him.

“I... did leave the runnin' o' this place to Marilyn,” agreed Crow, “An' while maybe I ain't 'appy about the sparkly Raven, if it works it works.”

“And it does work, so that's the end of it, Marilyn said.

“All the same, can I take part in the next auction?” Crow checked.

“You'd have to ask Arianna about that, but I can't see her having a problem with it,” replied Marilyn.

“Why would I need to ask Arianna?” Crow quizzed.

Then the large doors were pushed open again, with their usual crack, and Gus was standing there. He looked around at all of them and smiled up at Marilyn.

“Everything's been sorted out here, do you want me to walk you home?” he asked.

“Sounds good,” Marilyn said, “I'll see you all tomorrow.”

She climbed down from the stage, this time not chiding Crow for his attempt to help her. Then, once they'd all said goodbye, she headed out with Gus, putting her arm around him for the support that she wouldn't admit to needing. It was nice, Badger thought to himself. He didn't know much about Marilyn and Gus's relationship, seeing as they were both private people in that regard, but he hadn't seen them display much affection around each other openly. So this was quite sweet to see.

“Surprised ya not goin' with 'em,” Crow said to Charlie, “Don't ya wanna nag 'im to draw more o' that comic?”

“No, he's right that they have a lot more than silly comics on their plate right now...” Charlie admitted. Then he brightened up and added, “Besides, I'll be walking back up to North Ely with the other posh kids. You should see Sean's face whenever I tease Tony.”

“Don't pick on them, they're onleh learning still,” Badger argued.

“Would you rather I stayed here and tried with Crow instead?” Charlie checked, savagely.

“Crow would rathah ya didn't. Now clear off before I decide to pluck every gem off that Bejewelled Raven o' yours,” threatened Crow.

“I know when I'm not wanted,” finished Charlie.

He gave them both a melodramatic pout and then marched out of the hall to join the others. Crow and Badger waited a while after that, but no one else came in, not even Arianna, so they assumed that meant they were being left to lock up. Not that Crow minded doing that. He'd often be the last person to leave back in the old days.

“Just the two o' us, Badge'. Like it is back 'ome,” Crow said.

Badger smiled at him; “Did yer just refer t' Southampton as 'ome compared t' 'ere, Crowlo?”

“Huh. Guess I did,” replied Crow, “The world gets weirdah every day.”

“As long as we get by, it's not too weird t' me,” Badger assured him.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Crow helps prepare for the next auction, Badger takes a break to go talk to Marilyn about her situation. He soon learns that Marilyn has more worries than most people realise, Charlie seems to be up to something, there's someone in the Black Raven base who shouldn't be there and that through it all, time stops for no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this chapter, Grasping Liquid is finally up to date with what's been posted elsewhere online. So next time this fic updates it'll be to put up an entirely new chapter.

The next day saw Crow and Badger headed back down to the underground base. They'd left it until later than usual, to give everyone else a chance to arrive, and sure enough when they glanced around the hall most of the others were there. However, there was one notable exception.

“Where's Marilyn? She said she'd be in today,” checked Crow. He glanced towards the back room, in case she was through there.

“Mari was having a bad time with the baby moving about,” Gus replied, “She wanted to come, but knew it'd be better to wait it out until she was feeling more up to it.”

“That's a shame. But she's right to do wot's best for 'er an' the baby, especially this far along,” Crow agreed.

“You two helping us out today then?” asked Tony, from where he was sat sewing up one Black Raven outfits that must have needed some repairs.

“That's the idea,” Crow answered.

Badger hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actualleh, while I do want t' 'elp out, I were thinking of popping out on me own fer a while. I'll be back lateh though. That ah'reet, Crowlo?”

“Ya don't need to ask for my permission,” assured Crow, “Everythin' is okay with ya though, ain't it?”

“Yeah. It's nowt bad. Just need t' stretch me legs. I know 'ow badleh yer want t' dive back int' this auction prep business Crow, so doun't let me 'old yer back,” Badger said.

“Okay then, Badge'. Guess we'll see ya latah,” concluded Crow.

Badger gave him a nod of assurance, then waved to the others and headed off back the way they'd came. He had no doubt that although Crow might fret about him for a while, soon enough he would bury himself so deeply in Black Raven work that by the time Badger got back, the others would be fed up with him. On top of that, he did also wonder how long it would take for Crow to realise that Arianna was the leader now, if he hadn't already guessed. Crow could still be hard to figure out sometimes.

Then again, so could Badger, he supposed. Since there was actually a reason for him leaving other than just stretching his legs. And that was to check in on Marilyn. While he felt bad for not telling this to Crow, the logic behind that choice was that he knew Crow would want to come along and then he'd only fuss about the baby again. Badger wanted to talk seriously to Marilyn, just as the two of them. Surely that wasn't too much of a crime.

The walk to Marilyn's house hardly took any time at all. It seemed as if both of her parents had already left for the market, so he knocked and let himself in. Usually he'd wait for someone to answer the door, but right now he was more worried about straining Marilyn in walking too far than about being rude.

“Mal?” he called.

“I'm through here!” Marilyn replied from the living room.

Badger headed through to where Marilyn was lying on the couch, looking as if she was two seconds away from seeking out a more comfortable lying position and had been tossing about all morning. But all the same, she smiled at Badger in her usual pleasant manner as he made his way towards the armchair next to the couch.

“No Crow today?” she asked.

“Nah, 'e's too buseh bossing everyone about in the base,” Badger answered.

“Surprised he let you come without insisting on tagging along,” said Marilyn.

“Well 'e... kindeh doesn't know I'm 'ere,” Badger admitted.

“Ooh, that's brave of you. He'll fuss when he finds out,” tease Marilyn.

“I'll just tell 'im t' knock it off. Crowlo's fussing doun't worreh me any more,” Badger assured.

Marilyn laughed; “You've come a long way from the boy who flinched whenever Crow glanced his way. So... is there any reason you've popped in then?”

“Just t' talk,” said Badger, “It's been kindeh a whirlwind since we got 'ere and we 'aven't 'ad a chance just t' sit down and talk. I know yer said that yer doun't want anyone t' make a big deal oveh yer, but this is definitely a propeh big deal. So if yer do need t' talk...”

“...then I know I can talk to you,” Marilyn stated, “And I do appreciate it. Actually, you're probably one of the better people I could talk to about this. Crow means well, but he does make a mountain out of a molehill, and the rest of them all put me on such a podium. They all think I know what I'm doing...”

“Crow thinks yer do as well,” admitted Badger.

“Well, he's wrong. I don't,” Marilyn huffed, as she pulled a cushion out from underneath herself and flung it down onto the floor.

“So this weren't planned at all?” Badger asked.

“Planned! No, this was the last thing that the two of us wanted,” Marilyn barked, with a sharper laugh this time, “We very nearly... well, anyway, we talked it through and decided to go through with this, but I still think that neither of us are ready. We're both still living with our parents, for starters.”

“At least that means they'll be there t' 'elp,” reasoned Badger.

“There is that,” Marilyn agreed, “But even so, Mum's just got back onto her feet properly and now I'm putting this onto her. They say that they're happy to have a grandchild, but I can't help wondering if they're a little... disappointed.”

“Why would they be disappointed?” Badger said.

“Because I... I have standards that people expect of me,” replied Marilyn, “From them, from the Black Ravens and from everyone in this part of town. Ever since I was little I'd walk down the street and people would go, 'oh there's that Marilyn, always helping her family, such a good girl, so smart and knows what to do – reliable Marilyn'. They'd say it with their eyes if not their mouths. People just look at me and expect me to know the answers to their problems. Even you did back before you moved away.”

“Y-yeah...” Badger confessed.

“And I liked it. There was something good about being the person everyone could rely on,” Marilyn went on, “Only now... when people look at me it's different. They don't say it, but I can tell what they're thinking it. That maybe I'm not the oracle after all. Th-that maybe I'm j-just some stupid village girl w-who got... knocked up so young. Not like that elegant Arianna with her sharp wit or smart Wren who went away to c-college... Heck, she's just worked at a f-fruit stall her whole life, she'll probably never aspire to anything...!”

“That's not true!” yelled Badger. He scrambled off his seat and grabbed tight hold of her hand, “No one thinks badleh of yer! A-and why would anyone eveh compare yer to Wren or Arianneh? Yer nowt like those two. And that's fine! Yer all fine! Just because yer 'ad a baby and no one else 'as doun't make it any different.”

“It does though, Badger...” Marilyn sighed, “Maybe not to you, but to a lot of people it does. And maybe we're stupid to even do this... The Black Raven money is good, but I don't know if we could move in together and raise a child on it. Heck, we weren't even thinking about anything like that before. We'd just been dating and fooling about... Neither of us thought that far about how serious it might get. Well... I hadn't, anyway. Maybe Gus had thought further ahead...”

“The two of yer are a good match,” Badger reasoned, “Gus is sensible and 'e's liked yer fer as far back as I can remembeh.”

“Yes... Gus is a good person...” agreed Marilyn, though it worried Badger how distant she sounded. However, she then shook her head and replied in a more usual Marilyn fashion, “...I'm sorry for putting all of this on you, Badger. I just started talking and it came out.”

“It's ah'reet. Afteh years of the rest of us coming to yer about our problems, it's about time I returned the favour,” he assured, “I think everyone needs t' talk about their worrehs sometimes.”

“You're not wrong there,” said Marilyn, as she reached down with her free hand to retrieve the cushion from the floor again, “I just wish I could see the future like everyone seems to think I can. I have no idea how this is going to turn out...”

“I bet I can take a guess,” Badger said. He let go of her hand so she could tuck the cushion back under herself, “The two of yer will do a great job raising a little 'un. It'll be a realleh sensible and well-balanced kid, just like it's parents. Then if any of the othehs start 'aving kids they'll all come t' yer for advice, just like they do with everything else.”

“Oh great, so I can look forward to becoming the oracle of parenting as well,” Marilyn chuckled “But thanks, Badger. Hearing your confidence does make me feel better.”

“Anytime, Mal,” Badger replied.

“I'll remember that. But for now, why don't you head back off to the others? The baby wants me to sleep again, so I'm not going to be good company,” she said.

“It doun't feel right leaving yer on yer own,” Badger argued.

“The market isn't that far away and Gus does come to check on me every hour or so. I'll be fine,” promised Marilyn.

“If yer sure,” said Badger, as he pulled himself to his feet, “But if summit does 'appen, we'll all come running.”

“I don't doubt that,” Marilyn answered.

“Well... see yer lateh then,” concluded Badger.

He saw himself out after saying goodbye to Marilyn. Though as he left he wished that he felt better about the situation. Even if Marilyn said it was okay, it sounded as if she was seriously worrying about all of this and Badger's reassurance had seemed flimsy to him. There had to be something he could do to help. Either to make her feel better or make the situation easier...

...Though before he could think any more on that matter, his eye was caught by Charlie, who was now no longer in the Black Raven base like he had been this morning and was wandering through the market. It looked as if he was holding something in his hands and as Badger came closer he realised it was Gus's notebook, which Charlie was too engrossed in to even realise that Badger was there.

“Curly, 'ey!” Badger called.

Charlie almost jumped out of his skin, then scrambled to hide the notebook away in his pocket. That seemed awfully suspicious to Badger.

“Oh, there you are, Badger,” Charlie hurriedly said, as if he was pretending to have been looking for him.

“I said before that I were gan out fer a walk,” reminded Badger.

“So you did,” hummed Charlie, dismissively, “Well, I just needed to get some air myself. Listening to Crow cluck about is incredibly droll and everyone sides with him when I try to argue, because he's Crow.”

“What yer doing with Gus's notebook?” Badger asked, ignoring everything else that Charlie had said.

“You saw that?” said Charlie. He looked nervous at first, but then a small smile crept across his face; “Well, Gus always lets me borrow it after he's finished a chapter. And today he finished the whole first book. Exciting, isn't it? Of course, in true dramatic fashion the story ends on a cliffhanger. But Tim and Si did share their first kiss, so it looks promising that they might get together in future. Even if Tim does still have eyes for his old flame, Hummid. Though what's a romance story without a little love triangle?”

“Hummid?” Badger echoed. He suddenly had a horrible feeling that if he read this comic he might have to have a serious talk with Gus about who the characters were based on; “Um, anyway, it sounds like yer done reading it now.”

“I am indeed. Couldn't put it down for a moment,” Charlie sighed.

“So yer gan t' give it back t' Gus, yeah?” checked Badger.

“J-just heading to do that now...” Charlie mumbled.

“But the base and Gus's 'ouse are both in the otheh direction,” Badger pointed out.

“Ah. Yes. So you're right...”

“Badgah! There ya are!”

Badger turned to see Crow rushing towards him. Crow running always put Badger on high alert, so he hurried over to greet him and find out what was happening.

“Everything okay, Crowlo?” he asked.

“Yeah, it's bettah than okay,” Crow replied, “I 'ate to say it, but this lot 'ave picked up a few tricks that I think we could take back down to Southampton with us. Ya gotta come see wot they've done with the trapdoor. And the spotlight positionin'. They've got some great stuff goin' on in the auction 'all now.”

“I'll be there in a second, just need to find out summit from Curly first,” said Badger.

“Curly? Ya mean ya weren't done talkin' to 'im?” Crow said, “Kinda rude o' 'im to just take off then.”

“...What?”

Sure enough, when Badger turned around he saw that Charlie was now nowhere to be found. If that didn't make the whole thing seem more curious then he didn't know what did. But even if there was the possibility that Charlie might have stolen Gus's notebook, Badger didn't fancy chasing him just now. After all, he might have just gotten the wrong end of the stick about it. Charlie and Gus were apparently good friends. So if Badger just told Gus he'd seen Charlie still had the notebook then maybe Gus would say it was no big deal.

He shook his head at Crow, dismissing the whole Charlie situation, then the two of them made their way back to the manhole cover. Luckily enough for Badger, when they got there it was just in time to catch Gus climbing out.

“Just going to check in on Marilyn,” Gus told them, “Shouldn't be too long.”

“Ah'reet, Gus. Did yer know that Charlie still 'as yer comic, by the way?” Badger checked. It hadn't been the most natural transition between topics, but even now Badger wasn't the best at conversations.

Gus looked exasperated; “He always keeps it for ages after I lend it to him. I only get it back when he wants more. Now that I've finished that one I'll probably never see that book again. I bet he'll just hand me a new one and demand I work on a sequel.”

“Are yer gan t' write one?” Badger asked.

“Um... probably someday. I have the story all in my head, but I've been working on this same comic for so long and now I want to try something else for a while,” answered Gus, “High school backgrounds are so annoying, there's so many chairs and desks to draw... So I figured next I might do a one-shot about an astronaut and an alien having an affair on the moon.”

“That sounds terrible,” Crow flatly stated.

“Crow!” hissed Badger.

“It's fine, what I write isn't for everyone,” Gus laughed, “In fact, I think Charlie might be the only person who likes it.”

“Nah, I bet lotsa people would. I just ain't into romance much,” dismissed Crow.

“Funneh, back when I were living with yer in Mist'allereh I used t' always find yer crouched oveh yer mam's Mills an' Boons novels,” Badger mused.

“Ya must be mistaken!” yelped Crow, suddenly laughing loudly and falsely, as if Badger was telling a joke and he was in on it, “Anyway, we'll let ya get on, Gus.”

Badger and Gus exchanged smirks with each other behind Crow's back, then each of them headed on their ways. One thing Badger always admired about Crow was how quickly he could mask his embarrassment sometimes, since once they got down into the tunnel he was talking away again as if nothing had happened. If it had been Badger in that same situation then he'd have been hiding his head for weeks. But then, Crow's confidence was something he'd always found attractive and it was nice to see it flooding back to him now he was in Misthallery once again.

When they got back through to the auction hall they were greeted by the remaining three Black Ravens - Arianna, Tony and Sean - who were all working away in companionable silence. Badger nodded to them, then joined Sean in sanding down a large table, while Crow jumped up on the stage to talk with Arianna about presentation techniques.

The five of them must have stayed there, cheerfully working away, for almost two hours. All so absorbed in what they were doing that none of them stopped to consider that Gus had taken a long time in getting back for what was supposed to be a quick check on Marilyn.

Their interruption came suddenly and not in a form that anyone was expecting. Uncertain footsteps could be heard pattering down the tunnel outside, then it sounded as if someone ran right into the large door that led through to the hall. As everyone's heads swivelled around to face the door, sudden banging on it began.

“It ain't locked!” called Crow. He seemed confused to even have to say that and Badger couldn't blame him. Anyone who knew about the base would know that the door wasn't locked at this time.

The knocking ceased. There was a pause. Then the door was slowly and laboriously pushed open. And the person who came through it was...

“Finch!” Crow yelled. He got down off the stage and ran over, “Wot're ya doin' 'ere? This place is Black Ravens only!”

“It's coo', man! Don't get your feathers all ruffled,” squeaked Finch, backing away as he spoke, “I didn't even know about this nest before today, I swear, but Gus told me where it was and he's one of your flock, yeah? So I can fly with you now, right?”

For a long time, Finch had admired the Black Ravens from a distance. At first he only admired them as a group of friends. Badger assumed that he wanted to be one of them, but because he was from the Great Ely crowd, he rarely came to the market and didn't talk much with them. Then he'd later found out about the mysterious Black Raven and thought that was the coolest thing ever. Rumour had it that he'd started referring to himself as Finch around about that time, hoping that he'd catch the Black Raven's notice. But unfortunately for him, he never did. It was a bit of a shame really, even after Charlie and Sean were adopted into the gang, Finch wasn't. And Badger doubted it was because anyone was ignoring him so much as he was just overlooked.

But for him to just wander into the base like this was a bold move. And Badger had no idea why Gus would tell him to come here without checking with the rest of them first. Unless...

“No, ya can't just be in with us like that,” Crow snapped, harsher than he'd meant to be, “Why did Gus send ya 'ere?”

“Oh, right. Um... look, I think they were in a tight spot. Said he would've got Charlie to come get you all, but that guy seems to have flown the coop,” explained Finch, “Not that I'm surprised to hear that. Since that turn-tail used to chill with me before he swooped off to join you guys. And after all the awful things he used to squawk about you all...”

“Just get to the point,” Crow hurried. It wasn't like him to skip out on a chance to complain about Charlie, so he must have understood the urgency of the situation.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. So anyway, they were all out in the car park when I saw them. He told me to let you know they were going to the hospital. Looks like it's time for the egg to hatch,” said Finch.

“What!”

It was hard to tell who said it first, not that it mattered. Everyone was equally stunned by the news. When Badger had seen Marilyn that morning she'd looked fine, but now she was...

“We're goin' there,” Crow stated.

“No, let's be reasonable,” corrected Arianna. And she stood her ground when Crow glared at her, “You and Badger can head along to the hospital. Gus has the only car, so I'm sorry to say that you'll have to walk. Tony can search for Charlie, since he should know about this as well. Sean, please escort Finch back to Great Ely and make sure he doesn't tell everyone along the way. Marilyn's family might not want the news to get out just yet.”

“Right,” Tony and Sean said in unison.

“Don't worry, you won't get a cheep out of me,” promised Finch, “...But now I know about your nest, does that mean I'm in with a flying chance next time you need new members?”

“We'll see,” said Arianna. Because it was politer than saying no.

That seemed like a good enough answer for Finch though and he gladly headed out with Sean after hearing it. Tony followed along behind them to look for Charlie, leaving Crow, Badger and Arianna in the hall.

“So wot are ya gonna do now that everyone else is gone?” Crow quizzed.

“Prepare for the auction,” answered Arianna, “I am a Black Raven and we have a schedule to keep to. You two and Gus will be there for Marilyn, so I know everything will work out fine. She wouldn't want an auction to be stopped for her sake, so I'll carry on and the others will help me once they get back.”

Crow smiled, “Ya know, I reckon everythin' 'ere is gonna be just fine as well. Ya make a good leadah, Arianna.”

“Glad you think so,” Arianna replied, pleased that the penny had dropped, “Now you two should hurry off before you miss anything.”

“We will! Come on, Badge',” called Crow.

The two of them darted out of the door and off down the tunnel. They passed Sean and Finch not too long after they got out into the open air. It seemed that Tony had disappeared in another direction. As Badger and Crow sprinted by, they heard a 'coo'!' on the breeze from Finch. It was hard not to feel a little smug.

They both knew that they couldn't run all the way to the next town over, but right now they felt a sense of urgency, so they'd keep up the pace as long as they could manage it. Marilyn needed her friends by her side and she would get that soon.

“Babehs aren't born that quickly, are they?” Badger asked, as they made it to the rope bridge.

“I don't think so, but I ain't an expert,” replied Crow, “Either way, once we get there I ain't leavin' until that little Black Raven is born.”

“Even if Mal tells yer t' go,” checked Badger.

“Even if every doctah in the 'ospital tells me to go,” concluded Crow.

And with that, the two of them headed across the rope bridge and out of Misthallery. It was going to be a long day.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Marilyn's baby to come into the world. But Crow and Badger aren't allowed far enough into the hospital to see that happen, which might be for the best. And since they're there anyway, Badger decides to use this time to visit someone he hasn't seen for almost four years now...

It seemed to take forever for them to reach the hospital. Badger knew it was always been a decent walk between the two towns, but now that they were desperately in a hurry that distance made all the difference. Even he was panting by the time they got to the entrance, which meant that Crow had no chance, though he made his best effort to recover and stand up straight before they went inside.

“Is this the same 'ospital that we always gan t' when we come int' town?” Badger asked, as he looked around. It seemed to be in a similar sort of area to where he knew the hospital was, but this entrance was entirely unfamiliar to him.

“Yeah, this is just the maternity ward,” answered Crow, “We've just nevah bin 'ere before 'cause... well, why would we need to?”

“I guess so,” Badger replied.

The two of them made their way over to the desk. As he often was in such situations, Crow went in all swagger, as bold as brass, but what he was told wasn't what he wanted to hear. Only family or partners were permitted through to where Marilyn was. And as much as Crow argued that the Black Ravens were like a family, it wasn't flying with the man behind the desk. Badger had worried that might be the case.

He could tell Crow's hackles were raising about this, so he placed a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to jolt him back to reality. As Crow looked across, Badger shook his head. That seemed to be enough to snap him out of it. He mumbled to the receptionist to let them know if there were any changes, then slunk off to sit in one of the chairs that were littered around the reception area. It seemed they were at least allowed that far in without any objections.

“What're we gan t' do afteh coming all this way?” Badger whispered. He hovered next to Crow's seat, not wanting to sit down just yet.

“We wait. Even if they don't let us in, Marilyn will come out eventually,” replied Crow.

“But we doun't know 'ow long that'll take,” Badger reasoned, “They'll 'ave t' chuck us out by the end of the day if there's no changes by then.”

“Maybe Gus will come out to find us before that 'appens. It was 'im who sent Finch to let us know, so 'e must 'ave an idea that at least some o' us will be comin',” suggested Crow.

Badger just nodded. Then, unable to settle, he began to pace the room in thought until a sharp glare from the receptionist sent him withering back to Crow's side. He didn't want to risk them being thrown out over being disorderly.

Although Crow was lost in his own worries, he did pick up that something was wrong with Badger, so when he rejoined him, Crow said, “It ain't just the baby that's got ya worked up, huh?”

“Nah,” confessed Badger, “I mean, of course I'm worried about Mal, but... well, this is the same 'ospital me old man's in. Even if 'e is in a very different part of it...”

“Do ya wanna go see 'im?” Crow asked.

“Kindeh, yeah...”

“Then we should go. I doubt there'll be many changes 'ere for the moment,” Crow said.

At that, Badger swallowed hard; “I... eh, w-wanted t' mebbe... gan on me own. If yer doun't mind, like...”

“Why would I mind? Just... are ya sure ya up for this?” replied Crow.

His face was a picture of concern and Badger couldn't blame him. Ever since his dad had first been taken into care, Badger had always insisted that Crow came with him when he went to visit him. Mostly because he was still a little bit scared of his dad back in those days and having Crow by his side gave him the confidence that he needed. But right now... well, Badger felt more like an adult now than he had done back then. He wasn't scared of his dad now. Instead he recognised that he was probably a very feeble man who needed to behave himself if he wanted to stay here. And Badger hadn't visited him once since before he left for London, which was was coming up to four years ago now. So all Badger actually felt when he thought of him these days was guilt, not fear.

He nodded.

“It's reet fer me to gan see 'im,” he decided.

“All right, then I'll stay 'ere an' wait,” said Crow, “That way if Gus comes out there'll be at least one o' us 'ere. Then when ya come back I can let ya know if there's been any changes.”

“Sounds good. Yer sure yer woun't get too bored though?” Badger checked.

“With a baby Black Raven just about to come into the world? No way I could be bored with that in mind,” assured Crow.

“If yer sure,” Badger chuckled.

“I am. Now don't go gettin' lost, Badge'. There'll be plenty o' people about to ask if ya can't find ya way,” Crow insisted.

“Doun't worreh about me, motheh 'en,” hummed Badger.

With that, he gave a quick wave and then went to head back out of the entrance.

“I do worry. I'll always worry,” Crow called after him.

That was something Badger knew to be true, though he hoped that there'd be at least something in the reception to keep Crow's mind occupied while Badger was away. There had been magazines scattered across the table for guests to read through, so perhaps Crow would make use of one of them.

Now that he was back into the open air, Badger headed off around the building to look for somewhere he was more familiar with. The hospital was huge, with so many different wards for all the different kinds of patients they got there. From Marilyn having her baby to... to people like Badger's dad...

He couldn't read any of the big, blue signs that were dotted around, but even so he wasn't too worried about getting lost. Because he knew that as soon as he was on the right track he'd be able to find his way. And sure enough, when he heard the whistle of a train from the nearby station it helped him find his bearings and pointed him in the right direction. Then it was just a short walk through a car park and into the more familiar entrance.

It took the lady on the desk here a few moments to recognise Badger, given that it had been a few years since he'd last been there. But once she heard the name Simon Walker her face lit up and she gave Badger directions to the new room that his dad had been transferred into. At first that worried him, because being changed wards could only mean there was a change in his condition. But she assured him that the change was purely cosmetic – since his dad was there for the long haul, it made sense to put him into a more comfortable room. Though even if the receptionist hadn't meant to worry him, her words confirmed one thing that Badger had never been sure of before, that his dad probably wouldn't be leaving this place.

He wasn't sure exactly how to feel about that. On one hand, he was better off here with people who could properly care for him. Now that their old family house was up for sale and Badger lived in Southampton, it wouldn't be easy for them to figure out what to do if he was discharged. Because even if his dad was okay about coming down south, Badger didn't know how Crow would feel about letting him stay there. So with all that in mind, his dad staying here helped to avoid a lot of complications. But on the other hand he... well, he was Badger's dad. And there was something dismal about the notion that he'd be stuck here forever, with his only family being a son who rarely visited him.

As Badger walked down the corridor, he tried to reassure himself that at least this one visit was better than none...

When he reached the room that he presumed was the right one, he knocked and entered. There was a sharp snort from the bed, as if the noise had woken his dad from a doze.

“What's this? I'm not due anything reet now...” he muttered.

“D-dad...?” Badger mumbled.

To that, he dad sat up like a bolt and turned to stare at the room. When his eyes clasped onto Badger he moaned and then sunk back into his sheets, shaking his head.

“So it's yer then... Bloodeh 'ell, Si, yer know 'ow t' give an old man a fright,” he grumbled.

Badger took a deep breath; “I'm sorreh that I 'aven't come t' visit in so lo-”

“-No, yer not sorreh,” snapped his dad.

That shut Badger up. He jammed his mouth closed, unsure what he could say now. He tried to stop himself from shaking all over and with some effort managed. That in itself was an achievement, as once upon a time Badger would have disappeared from the room as soon as his dad said anything harsh to him. But right here and now Badger understood why his dad was annoyed with him, so he had to take this if he wanted any chance to save the relationship between them.

His dad took another look at him and sighed loudly, wanting his distaste to be known. But since Badger was still standing there he decided to go on.

“Didn't think yer could get any talleh. Guess yer proved me wrong in that and all,” he muttered, “So... 'ow's London treating yer? That little Cockney snot ditched yer yet?”

“Crow's... still with me, but we doun't live in London now,” Badger answered, “That didn't work out. Be we opened a shop in Southampton and it's been doing well enough. We've been there almost three years now.”

“My son, a shop-keepeh?” his dad said.

“I know it weren't what Mam wanted. I didn't go int' football or running or owt like that, but it pays the bills,” Badger reasoned.

“Nah, I'm not disappointed. It's respectable enough t' 'ave a job at all these days, let alone run yer own business. Though I'm guessing the Cockney 'andles most of the business side of things,” his dad replied.

“Crow... well, 'e likes t' be in charge. But 'e'd get propeh a'ead of 'imself if I didn't keep 'im in check,” said Badger.

“I don't need t' know about yer relationship,” grumbled his dad.

“It's nowt like that,” Badger retorted. He felt some of his dad's own venom in his voice.

“If it's not, then it's probableh not far off, is it? Look, yer can't fool me, Si. Do whateveh yer want with that boy, I just don't want t' know about it. Not that I will, since yer neveh come t' visit any more,” his dad replied.

It wasn't easy to hear that, even if Badger had never expected his dad to be supportive. At least he was saying that he wouldn't try to stop anything happening between Badger and Crow, though that might have only been because he was powerless to do anything about it anyway. But even so, a part of Badger had hoped that his dad might have come around to the idea. They were still family after all.

...No. He needed to just accept that he'd never have that particular blessing and move on.

“I should've come t' visit more. I will come more,” he insisted.

“All the way from Southampton? I doubt it,” his dad laughed.

“I will! When Mal 'as 'er baby, I know Crow'll want t' come see it all the time, so we'll be up 'ere more. And if not then, well, I'll make me own reasons t' come,” Badger promised.

Whether his dad believed him or not, he didn't say, but he did pick up on one thing from the conversation; “That market girl's 'aving a babeh?”

“Y-yeah, she's oveh in the maternity ward reet now,” replied Badger.

“Then what are yer doing 'ere?” asked his dad.

“I'm 'ere because I wanted t' see yer! Is that realleh so 'ard t' believe?” Badger exclaimed.

Silence. His dad looked down at the bedsheets, seeming to be reflecting on something. Then he shook his head once more and looked back up at Badger.

“I'm glad yer came t' see me. I want t' see yer more,” he admitted, “Gan be with yer friends now, but promise me that yer'll come back sometime.”

“I promise,” insisted Badger, “Th-thanks, Dad...”

“Doun't thank me fer owt. Now push off, I need t' get me kip.”

That was the end of that. Badger decided that now wasn't the right time to try hugging his dad or anything like that. There'd be other times. So instead he just made his way to the door, ending their brief visit. When he looked back, his dad was already getting settled back into the sheets, ready to go back to sleep. He'd once been a big, strong man, but now he was... well, he was not the same.

“I love yer, Dad...” Badger muttered.

“...And I love yer too, Simon,” replied his dad.

That was about as much as Badger could take. He turned and walked hastily down the corridor, not even trying to wipe the tears from his eyes as he went.

***

It took him a while to remember the way he'd came from the maternity ward so he could find his way back there. But when he did, Crow was still sat in the reception, engrossed in a magazine that had a photo of a posh-looking garden on the cover. However, as soon as he saw Badger approach, he dropped it back on the table and got up to greet him.

“So 'ow did everythin' go with ya dad?” he checked.

“As yer might expect. But I'm glad t' 'ave done it. I realleh should make more effort t' visit 'im,” replied Badger.

“We'll make sure ya can,” said Crow, “Somethin' tells me that we might be in Mist'allery a bit more now. An' speakin' o' that, Gus did come out to see me while ya were away.”

“Oh?” Badger prompted.

“Everythin' seems to be goin' as well as it can,” Crow told him, “We're still not allowed in until the baby's born, but it looks like we won't be 'ere ovah night. Well, I mean, Marilyn will be, but we won't. The baby should be born before they toss us out.”

“That's great news,” agreed Badger, “So now it's just a waiting game.”

“Yeah, and I've bin gettin' some great decoratin' tips from these magazines, Badge'. Reckon we could do the place ovah when we get 'ome?”

Badger chuckled, “Crow, we doun't even 'ave a garden.”

“You're right... But Wren an' Socket 'ad one, yeah? Ya think they might let us do ovah theirs?”

“I'm not even gan t' answeh that one.”

But all the same, Badger settled into one of the chairs and after Crow had returned to his own seat, Badger was happy enough to join him in looking through pictures of expensive houses and gardens.

***

By the time Gus came out to find them again, Badger was considering that they might have been very close to being thrown out for the night. Even the receptionist had been replaced by a different one from when they'd first arrived and the crowd of late night visitors was dwindling down to nothing. He wasn't sure exactly how late they'd be allowed to stay there until, but it had long since gotten dark outside, that was for sure.

So they were both glad when their friend came to join them, even if Gus did look slightly worse for the wear. It seemed a bit like he was walking through a dream and, given the situation, Badger couldn't blame him.

“Everything ah'reet, Gus?” he prompted, to try and snap him out of it.

“Oh. Yeah. Everything's fine. Sorry I didn't come get you sooner, but... well, anyway, you can both come through now,” Gus replied.

“They're okay with it?” Crow checked.

“Yeah, it's all fine. They didn't want you there while Mari was actually giving birth, but now that it's done she's been moved to a room where she can have visitors. And she'll be here for at least a few days, so I reckon all of the others will come see her at some point,” Gus explained.

“Knowin' the Black Ravens, that'll be true,” agreed Crow, “Well, lead the way then.”

They left the reception area and followed Gus through into the maternity ward. As they walked their steps echoed loudly on the polished floor and Badger couldn't stop himself from listening to every little sounds. He wondered about each room that they passed. How many of them contained people whose lives were drastically being changed right at this moment? And what would this change mean for Marilyn and Gus, for that matter?

Perhaps only time would be able to answer that question, but a more immediate question he was about to find out the answer to was how Marilyn was doing. Gus led them to one of the rooms, where there were several beds, some of which housed others new mothers. A few had the curtains drawn to allow the person within them privacy with their families, but Marilyn's bed, near the middle of the room, was welcome to all visitors. That felt a lot like Marilyn to Badger - she never turned away anyone who wanted to talk to her or ask her for advice. No doubt by the time she was discharged she probably would have made friends with some of the strangers in this room even.

When she saw the three of them her face lit up, though that didn't change how worn she looked. Badger couldn't even begin to understand the pain that she'd been through.

“I just knew it would be you two first,” she laughed.

“Was there evah any doubt?” Crow boasted.

“None at all. So I suppose you want to see the litter bundle of joy?” checked Marilyn.

“If ya 'ave 'im 'andy,” replied Crow.

She motioned to a cot next to her bed. Crow was there in an instant, with Badger following along behind him. Resting in the cot was the tiniest baby Badger had ever seen, fast asleep after his ordeal of being brought into the world.

“This is little Guntiver,” Marilyn introduced, “We were worried about him, because he was born so premature, but they told us that as long as we keep an eye on him that he should be fine.”

“Guntz, eh?” Crow whispered.

He gently lifted the baby out of the cot with as much care as he could manage. Even if Crow could be reckless about many things, when it came to this child he was handling him as if he was the most important thing in the world. And to at least two people, that was definitely the case. Maybe even more than two people, Badger mused, as Crow bent down to kiss Guntiver on the top of his forehead.

Marilyn and Gus looked at each other, smiling.

“Guntz is a nickname we can live with,” Marilyn decided.

“So what made yer pick Guntiver?” asked Badger.

“It was just a name we both liked,” Gus answered, “Honestly, it was harder than you'd think going through so many names. After a while we just came across Guntiver and decided to go with that. It's pretty unusual maybe, there aren't any other Guntivers in Misthallery, that's for sure. But maybe that'll help him stand out.”

“And he won't be a tiny baby for long,” Marilyn added, “We're going to make sure our little boy grows up big and strong.”

“I doun't doubt yer will,” agreed Badger, “And 'e'll 'ave all the Black Ravens looking afteh 'im. Especially Crow, from the looks of things.”

“Hmm?” mumbled Crow.

He looked back up at them all from where he'd been engrossed in watching the sleeping baby. And as the three of them laughed at his blank expression he replaced it with one of sheepish embarrassment.

“You better go call the others, if you haven't already,” Marilyn said to Gus.

“Will do. Let's hope the payphone is free, since it looked pretty busy before,” Gus replied, “Are you two happy to stay here with Mari while I'm gone?”

Badger smirked; “Looks like Crow'll be more than 'appy t' stay 'ere with 'is new favourite Black Raven.”

“Don't be like that, Badge',” teased Crow, “Ya know ya my favourite Black Raven, but this little one deserves my attention right now.”

Hearing Crow say that Badger was his favourite was a bit too much for Badger. He lowered his face to hide under his mess of hair while Marilyn giggled at them both. Then Gus gave them a final smile and left to let all of the others know the news.

It looked like Tony and Sean had been replaced as the youngest members of the group. And it would probably take quite a long while before anyone younger than baby Guntz came along to join.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crow has something that he needs to talk to Badger about, but life keeps getting in the way before he can do it. So in the end Crow gives up on his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, it'd be a shame if Badger died in this story. On that note, I think I should say now that we're still not anywhere close to the end of Grasping Liquid, so don't let this chapter fool you into thinking so.

It was a little more than a week after Guntz's birth before Marilyn was allowed to leave the hospital. While she'd been there she'd had visits from all of the Black Ravens at some time or another. And although they'd decidedly made lots of trips in smaller groups instead of going all at once (since they assumed that would stretch the visitors rule a bit far), whoever had gone to see her was usually accompanied by Crow. Sometimes Badger went as well, but without any disrespect to Guntz there was only so much that a baby could do, so Badger hadn't developed quite the same fascination with him that Crow had. He did find Crow's intrigue to be cute though.

But now her hospital stay was over and Marilyn was finally being allowed to come back home to Misthallery. Gus had driven out there to pick her up, with Crow and Badger coming along with him. The car was about as baby-proofed as it could possibly get, which Crow very much approved of.

Marilyn took a while to get from the hospital to the car, walking on shaky legs after a week of mostly bed rest. She allowed Gus to help her walk and, to his delight, allowed Crow to carry Guntz. Badger watched as he cradled the baby close to him, stroking his hair softly as he walked.

“Jealous?” Marilyn joked, nudging Badger in the ribs.

“Get outteh 'ere,” snorted Badger.

Once they reached the car, Gus helped Marilyn into the passenger seat, then took Guntz from Crow so he could put him safely into the car. That was when Crow seemed to snap back to reality. He looked at Badger in something of a daze, which made Badger raise an eyebrow at him.

“Got a minute, Badge'?” he asked.

Badger shrugged; “Unless Gus and Mal are planning t' drive off this second then I've got plenteh.”

“Good. Great. Well, come with me,” replied Crow.

Before Badger could even utter a response, Crow grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the car. It wasn't worth asking them where they were going, because it soon became apparent that Crow was taking him to the train station, which wasn't far from the hospital. Though being there didn't do anything to put Badger's confusion to rest.

“We can't gan 'ome now, Crow. All our stuff is still at yer mam's place and we 'aven't even said goodbye t' all the others,” Badger said. It was most unlike Crow, if that was what he had in mind. Because as much as he wasn't one for long farewells, he did care about everyone a lot and would always make sure to at least say a few words to them before leaving.

But Crow shook his head, a grin plastered across his face. Badger knew that grin however, it said it was confident but allowed a slight slither of doubt to creep into it. Whatever Crow was planning, his mind was now calling it into doubt.

“Don't ya remembah 'ow this place was where we first set out to see the world from?” Crow asked, “When we stood there on that platform an' 'eld 'ands, to give ya the confidence to go?”

Badger blushed a little at the memory.

“Of course I remembeh that. It were one of the scariest times of me life, though it turned out t' be the best decision I eveh made,” he replied. Then, with a fond chuckle, he went on to say, “Now that yer mention it, that weren't the onleh thing that 'appened 'ere. I'll neveh ferget the day we came back down from Northumberland and yer stayed on the train afteh we all got off. Me 'eart was in me mouth back then, but I knew I 'ad t' stick by yer and find out if yer were okay.”

There was another falter in Crow's smile. What Badger said hadn't been intended to upset him, he was just reminiscing about old times, but it seemed to have taken the wind out of Crow's sails.

“That was a pretty 'orrible time...” Crow mumbled.

“Yeah, but in the end it all worked out,” soothed Badger.

“Ya know, we should probably get back to the car now,” Crow stated, “Don't wanna keep 'em waiting for us too long.”

“If yer say so,” said Badger.

He was still completely in the dark about why Crow had even brought him here, but if Crow had decided that whatever it was for had been a bad idea anyway then Badger wasn't about to, well, badger him over it to find out more information. Crow's decisions were absolute – he either did something with all his heart or didn't do something with all his heart. All Badger could do was go along with the flow of him, stepping in when he needed to. Just like Roddy had advised him back in London. And since right now neither of them were in any sort of trouble, Badger decided it would be best to let Crow get on with dropping whatever he'd had planned.

It didn't take them long to get back to the car and once everyone was strapped inside it was a short drive to Misthallery. Unsurprisingly, when they arrived all of the Misthallery Black Ravens were waiting for them at the bridge.

“Who's lookin' aftah the base if all o' ya are out 'ere?” Crow scolded, as they came over to help Marilyn and Gus with their bags.

“We're actually on top of things there,” Arianna replied, “If you run a tight ship and keep to the schedule then sometimes you even have free time left over afterwards. It's called being efficient. You should try it sometime, Crow.”

“Huh. Well I'm more the sorta person who nevah leaves anythin' to chance an' triple checks everythin'. So there's no slackin' on my part,” huffed Crow.

“It's good to see you all got back safely,” Tony said to the group as a whole, though loud enough to prevent any further squabbling between Crow and his sister from breaking out, “I know that you'll probably want to spend today getting settled, Marilyn, but if you're up for it tomorrow evening then I booked a table at Paddy's Place for all of us.”

“That sounds great,” replied Marilyn, “It'll be nice to get to spend time with you all in one place after a week away. I'm sure my parents won't mind looking after Guntz for one night.”

“Trust me, they'll be more than all right with that,” Gus assured, “They've been itching to spend sometime with their new grandson all week.”

“Well, better not make them wait too much longer then,” Marilyn said, “Come on, let's all get back to the market.”

That was that for the greeting at the bridge. As everyone walked across there was enough chatter and good spirits that Badger admittedly forgot all about Crow's brief and strange conversation at the train station from before. Though it wouldn't be the last time Crow confused him in the next few days.

It happened again when they all went to the restaurant the next day. Everyone was talking and laughing away to each other, making speeches about what Marilyn had been through and how they were all going to pull together to look after Guntz and help the youngest Black Raven grow into a healthy child. Badger was surprised that Crow wasn't at the forefront of those speeches, since usually that would be exactly his kind of thing, but when he glanced over he caught Crow looking at him with the same calculated confusion as he'd had the other day. So Badger gave him a reassuring smile.

“Summit up, Crowlo?” he asked.

“Nah, just... can we step outside for a sec?” Crow replied.

“Sure,” agreed Badger.

They'd finished the main course anyway, with Paddy clearing away plates from the table while everyone else was distracted with talking to each other. And Badger had already decided that he wasn't going to have dessert, so he didn't mind being pulled away. Even though he knew that Crow usually wouldn't pass sweet food up, there was clearly more on his mind right now than sticky toffee pudding. So the two of them quietly made their way to the door of the restaurant.

Before they got that far though, Charlie got to his feet and called for silence.

“Right, it's my turn to make a speech now,” he announced, “You two by the door, get back over here this instant. Don't you know it's rude to sneak around?”

Crow shot Charlie a look that was only slightly short of murderous, but he did nod in agreement and motioned for Badger to follow him back over to their seats. Personally Badger felt it was a cheek for Charlie to have a go at them for sneaking away, given that on the day Marilyn had gone into labour it was Charlie who Badger had caught slinking off somewhere with Gus's notebook. He wondered if Gus had ever got that back, though with everything else that had been going on it was probably the last thing on his mind.

Charlie waited for them both to sit down before he carried on; “Now, I know that we've all been talking about how we need to pull together in the market to help give this baby a future and we're not wrong about that. But sometimes there are people who could do more, who have other talents that have nothing to do with what we do there, but are stifled by the work enough to never think they could have a future in anything else.”

“Thank goodness, looks like Curly's plannin' on leavin',” Crow called.

Charlie casually stuck his fingers up at Crow, then carried on, “What I was trying to say is that Gus has some great skill in art and you all know that now.”

“Not this again,” Gus cut in, “Look, Charlie, I'm glad you like my comics, but they're not anything special. And now that I've got Guntz to look after I'm not sure if I'll be doing any more anyway.”

“They're the beginnings of something special,” argued Charlie, “Unrefined, yes, but I've seen some work in printed comics that's worse than what you do. And you're going to have to do more, whether you like it or not.”

“Are you threatening him?” Marilyn checked, her tone contained a lot of warning.

“No, but I wanted to say that I entered the Tim and Si comic into that contest and-”

“You what!” Gus pressed his hands down on the table, looking uncharacteristically angry. Paddy made a point of disappearing into the kitchen instead of hovering around waiting to take dessert orders like he had been previously; “How dare you do that behind my back!”

“Well you were never going to do it on your own, no matter how many times I brought it up!” Charlie snapped.

“Because I don't have time for silly things like that! Maybe if it was a few years ago, but not now I've got a family to think about. Besides, there'd be no point competing against everyone across England in my age category. I'm only small village good. You think I don't know that there's hundreds of people better than me out there?” Gus argued.

“In that case all of those people must have decided not to enter either, because you came third in the contest and I think that's pretty respectable!” shot Charlie.

“I... what?” Gus gasped. He withdrew upon himself where he sat, clearly not ready to believe Charlie's words.

“Yes, you did,” replied Charlie, as he took a letter out of his pocket, “I just got word of it this morning and wanted to let you know tonight as a surprise. Look, I'm sorry that I posed as you and sent the comic away, but I had a good feeling and it turned out to be right.”

Gus had gone very pale. Marilyn reached across to rub his arm and then when he didn't say anything else, she asked, “So what does this all mean? Surely there must be some sort of prize for this.”

“No money, I'm afraid to say,” Charlie answered, “But the first five pages will be published in the magazine along with the other winners. They said in the letter that they couldn't print the whole thing, because there was a lot of it, but they thought the comic showed a lot of promise and were glad your submission made it in just before the end of the deadline.”

“But the first five pages are terrible...” Gus murmured, as he stared down at the table.

“That'll be for the readers to decide,” Charlie countered, “Look, the worst that's going to happen is a few people you'll never meet read the beginning of your comic, get confused by it and then go back to their lives. On the other hand, the best that could happen is that someone takes note of your work and something comes of this. Imagine Tim and Si with their own paperback trade cover!”

“I'm imagining it...” said Gus, though it wasn't apparent if he thought that was a good thing or not. Badger supposed that it was a lot to take in.

“It's not like me to side with Curly, but I think it's for the best,” Crow added, “Ya gotta tell me the name o' that magazine so I can get ten copies when it comes out.”

“Th-they stock it d-down at the shop...” Sean spoke up, “It c-comes out every month.”

“And it'll be a nice feather in the town's cap to have a local winner,” Arianna said.

“You're right,” Gus agreed, with a nod. He looked over at Charlie; “I'm sorry that I yelled at you. My comics are something I'm very self-conscious about. But I'm glad that you entered them into that contest... Thank you.”

Charlie took a bow; “You're most welcome. Now where's Paddy gone? I think we're all due some celebratory drinks.”

With that over, Badger looked back across at Crow.

“So do yer still want t' talk outside?” he asked.

“Nah, it's fine,” Crow dismissed, “Tonight is Gus's night.”

Whatever he meant by that, Badger didn't find out. But it didn't take him long to consider that it might have been the same thing Crow was trying to talk to him about at the train station. Nor was it the last time Crow tried to pull him away from the others while they were in Misthallery. But it never worked out. Either one of the Black Ravens would interrupt or Maureen would interrupt or they'd get away only to have Crow mumble that the time was wrong or the place was wrong. Eventually Badger got quietly frustrated with him and his annoyance was at least obvious enough that Crow gave up trying. Which only made matters worse, because now Badger had to settle for not knowing what Crow was making such a big deal out of.

It was still on Badger's mind (and probably Crow's too) on the day that they left Misthallery to go back to Southampton. Though there was plenty to keep them distracted with saying goodbye to everyone and for once Crow was the one to drew that out. It felt weird to Badger, usually he'd be the one getting emotional about leaving everyone, while Crow would be hurrying to get away so he could hide how sad he felt on the inside. But then he supposed that he had seen all of them a few times over the last three years, while Crow hadn't seem them at all. So with that in mind he dialled back his eagerness to get Crow alone to talk to him.

He spent most of the morning going through the motions of saying goodbye to the others, even if he wasn't really feeling it this time. First they said goodbye to Maureen as they left the house, then they popped down to the base to say goodbye to Arianna, Tony, Sean and Charlie, then they went to Marilyn's house to say goodbye to her and her family (with Crow taking the longest to say goodbye to Guntz out of everyone they saw that day), and then finally they left with Gus, who was driving them to the train station.

By the time they got there it turned out they were running late for their train, which Badger was thankful for. It gave him an excuse to grab Crow's arm, say a quick farewell to Gus and then pull Crow and their luggage along to the train before they missed it.

As soon as the carriage door was shut behind them, he whirled around to Crow.

“We're alone now. What did yer want t' say?” he demanded.

“It ain't the right time now,” answered Crow.

“Yer've been saying that all week!” Badger whined.

“An' I mean it. I'll know when it's the right time,” Crow assured him.

“Well... just let me know when it is as well, reet?” sighed Badger.

Crow nodded, then clammed up about the matter once again. They walked through to their seats and by the time they'd settled there Crow was already talking about tons of different topics. Badger assumed that none of them were the big thing he wanted to say, but all the same it was nice to see Crow in such a good mood. The trip to Misthallery had definitely helped him, Badger felt.

***

When they got back to the shop Umid and Roddy were waiting for them, since Crow had called to let them know today was the day they'd be getting home. Badger noted that everything on the shop floor looked clean and in the right place, maybe even more so than usual, so he assumed that they'd done all they could with looking after the place for them.

“I can't thank ya both enough for this,” said Crow, “Everythin' went all right, yeah?”

“Even your special third year anniversary auction. Which was such a pain, by the way, but we got it done,” Roddy replied.

“It has been our pleasure to care for the Black Raven's Nest,” Umid added, “But all the same, I am glad to be getting back to London. A break away is fine, but I miss the hustle and bustle of the big city.”

“Well I 'ope ya 'aven't bin sleepin' on the job,” mumbled Crow. Then he looked at Roddy, “Can I talk to ya privately for a second before ya go, Rod? There's somethin' I need to get off my chest.”

“Sure, I don't see why not,” Roddy said, with a shrug, “You two fine in here while we go talk?”

“By all means, I still have some packing left to finish,” replied Umid.

But as Crow and Roddy walked out the front door again, Badger found himself becoming unreasonably annoyed. He'd waited all week for Crow to almost say what he wanted, only for him to then back out of it every time. He'd even given him an easy chance to talk back on the train, which Crow had declined. And now he'd decided that whatever it was he needed to talk about was fit for Roddy's ears instead? Hot jealousy ran through Badger. He knew he was wrong to feel that way, but he couldn't help it.

As he turned to look back at Umid, he saw that Umid had an amused expression on his face, which only made matters worse.

“My bags are in the other room,” Umid said.

Then he headed out before Badger could say another word. Which left Badger alone in the shop, knowing that Crow was outside, only a few feet away, talking to Roddy about something that he probably very nearly talked to Badger about instead. And knowing that, Badger just couldn't help himself. He had to know what it was. So he quietly made his way to the shop door, pressing in close and listening out for what they were saying.

“I failed miserably, Rod,” Crow sighed.

“Kinda figured, yeah. Things would have been different back there if you hadn't, I bet. But how did you manage to not do it? I thought you would have had plenty of chances in Misthallery,” replied Roddy.

“An' so did I! But I reckon I'm just... nevah gonna be good enough for this,” Crow muttered, “I'm so worried that nothin' I do will be good enough, because the last thing I wanna do is go into it 'alf-arsed. With anythin' else I can always rely on my charm alone, on the spur o' the moment winnin' the day, but not with Badgah. When I tried that with 'im 'e quite rightly threw it back in my face an' told me I wasn't good enough. For Badgah I need to try 'ardah. But it's got to the point where nothin' I do will be as perfect as I want it to be. ...I just wanna be with 'im, Rod! I just want the two o' us to be togethah...”

“Then just ask him. Badger's not awful and he'll be able to see that you're genuine. Besides, he wants to be with you just as much as you want to be with him,” reasoned Roddy.

“Maybe ya right... But I still feel like I failed. Look, I'm gonna 'ead out to get some fish 'n' chips before the chippy closes up. Don't worry, I ain't gonna ask 'im out ovah that, but I figure some good comfort food aftah bein' away for so long will be nice. Can ya let Badge' know I won't be long?” Crow asked.

Badger didn't stick around to eavesdrop on Roddy's answer though, since he'd already heard enough of the conversation to know what was going on. He rushed over to the counter and hastily made to pretend that he was counting up the float in the till. His mind was in a daze. All this time Crow had been trying to ask him out! Then Badger had gotten too frustrated with him and scared him off... He felt awful.

It wasn't like how it had been the first time Crow had asked him that question – all fleeting charm and no substance. Now Badger knew that Crow loved him. They were practically together already, it was just that they needed to say the actual words. And the last thing Badger wanted was for Crow to be eating himself up inside over how to do it.

He had to find Crow and talk to him. They could sort this out between them, even if it meant Badger having to admit that he'd listened in on Crow's talk with Roddy.

Speaking of Roddy, he'd come through into the shop again now.

“Oi, Crow says he's just gonna get you something from the chippy, but he shouldn't be long,” he called, “I think Umid and me should head off now though, so we don't miss the next train. Let him know we said bye.”

“Sure...” mumbled Badger, even if in truth he'd barely heard Roddy's words.

He vaguely went through the motions of seeing Roddy and Umid off, though he did so in a dream-like state. His mind was still on Crow. Crow wanting to ask him out, Crow fretting over the right way to do it, Crow thinking that nothing could be good enough, Crow, Crow, Crow...

Almost as soon as their guests had disappeared around the corner Badger hurried out of the door, locking it behind him. He knew where Crow would be, because out of all the chip shops in Southampton, Crow favoured one on the pier. So Badger would catch him there and talk to him about everything. They both needed this.

He sped down to the pier, but when he looked in the windows of the chip shop he couldn't see Crow there at all. It was possible that Crow had already gotten what he'd came for and Badger had somehow missed him on the way there, but that seemed unlikely. It was Friday night – the place was packed and the service was slow at the best of times. Crow should still be hanging around in the queue. But he wasn't there...

Badger tried not to panic, telling himself that if there was going to be a long wait before his order was ready then Crow might have gone for a walk across the docks to pass the time. That seemed like the next most likely option. So Badger headed off that way, eyes scanning across the path as he went.

He got quite far out, enough of a distance away from the chip shop that the light was a distant glow behind him and in front of him was the deep blue of the night's sky, with dark ships all around him to make the whole scene look almost eerie.

“I've always like it out on the docks evah since we moved to this place.”

Badger looked around, but he couldn't see Crow anywhere on the docks, even if he had been sure that he'd heard him. Then, just as he was starting to doubt himself, the voice rung out again.

“Up 'ere!”

That was when Badger turned to look at the nearest ship, a great towering thing that seemed almost like an actual pirate ship. They were mostly for show, Badger knew, and people would sometimes bring them here for cleaning or repairs. But it wasn't the ship that caught Badger's eye so much as it was Crow, swinging idly across the rigging upon it.

“Get down 'ere before yer 'urt yerself!” Badger yelled.

“But I'm a Black Raven, weavin' through dangerous place is my life,” protested Crow.

“I mean it, Crow! What if someone catches yer?” Badger called.

“If ya that worried then come up 'ere an' get me. Ya've always bin bettah at this climbin' lark than me anyway,” replied Crow.

It was as if Crow's decision that nothing he did would be good enough for Badger had caused him to lose his mind. But Badger knew that he had to get Crow down from that ship, so he climbed across from the dock onto the side of the ship, grabbing onto the rigging to go after Crow. He thought his hands were brushing against something odd as he went, but he didn't stop to investigate. By the time he he got to Crow, it seemed that Crow had gotten high enough up to climb onto the wooden beams above, which he was now balancing on. Badger's heart was in his mouth.

“I've always fancied myself as a pirate, if I lived anothah life,” Crow wistfully said.

“I know yer've always fancied yerself” growled Badger, as he started to pull himself up onto the beam.

“Not as much as I fancy you though, Badgah.”

It was a good thing Badger had been holding onto the beam when he'd said that, because if he'd been trying to balance then he would have definitely lost it and fallen to his death upon hearing those words. He stared up at Crow, who was smiling down at him.

Then he reached a hand down to Badger.

“I've got somethin' to ask ya an' I reckon ya already know wot it is,” he said.

Badger took the hand, mostly to be sure that what was happening right now was real. And sure enough, Crow's hand was warm and inviting. But Badger had hardly a moment to appreciate that, because as soon as their hands touched, the ship lit up all around them. Now Badger knew what he'd touched on the way up – there were fairy lights strapped across the rigging, now illuminating the whole ship. But to Badger, they were mostly illuminating the face of the terrible man who'd pulled him up to stand on the beam with him.

“What's all this, Crow?” gasped Badger.

Crow squeezed his hand, then motioned to for him to look out to sea. All Badger could do was follow his instructions, just as enticed by him now as he had been all those years ago. Then it happened, as Badger looked out to the ocean there were loud explosions, the kind that would have once made Badger bolt back into his hole in the ground. But not now. What he did now was watch as fireworks filled the sky in all different colours. The main display lasted for a few minutes and then as they died down, a final set went off.

These ones were different though. They spelled something out in the sky:

'Will you let me me yours Badger?'

He turned back to Crow with his mouth wide open and he realised that the grin had never left Crow's face. This had been planned. The whole thing. Right down to the conversation with Roddy about giving up on finding the perfect way to ask Badger out. He knew that Badger would listen and he knew that Badger would follow.

“Yer bloodeh 'orrible!” cried Badger, wiping a tear from his eye, “And I bet it cost yer loads t' get fireworks t' spell out that long sentence. And yer know I can't read!”

“Ya read that,” Crow pointed out.

“Onleh because yer've been teaching me a bit... Now I see there was an ulterior motive there,” mumbled Badger.

“Well yeah,” admitted Crow, with no shame.

Badger sighed, “So yer went with loud noises and reading when picking out the best way t' do this?”

“Everythin' about us is a challenge, Badge'. We've 'elped each othah grow so much, to take on things we nevah could alone and nevah could without each othah. I wanted somethin' to symbolise that,” Crow explain.

“Yer full of it...” sighed Badger.

Then he saw the falter in Crow's face and he knew in that moment that even if the conversation with Roddy had been an act, there was at least some truth to it. Part of Crow was worried that he'd messed this up again. That he'd gone in all guns blazing, but still it wasn't enough to win Badger's heart. It was almost terrifying to think that in some ways the tables had turned and now it was Crow trying to prove to Badger that he was worthy of him instead of the other way around.

And in that honesty, in that genuine concern, Badger knew that this Crow was more worth his love than the Crow he'd started with ever was. He might still be a tricky showman, but he was one who did things with the two of them in mind, because he cared about Badger as much as Badger cared about him.

“So does this mean...” Crow prompted.

Before Crow could utter the word 'no', Badger reached down and grabbed him, just managing to hold them both steady on the beam. In a moment of mad euphoria Badger spun them both around in a circle, only to then stop suddenly and stare at Crow. Into a face that was not right now entirely in control and who was both scared and excited by that fact.

Then Badger reached down and kissed him. He kissed Crow. Badger did it. Not the other way around. It was a bit wet and not great maybe, but he'd never kissed anyone other than his mam before, so he was extremely out of practise. When he pulled away he started to laugh and then Crow started to laugh too. They stood there on that beam, laughing at each other.

“I should know by now nevah to cross the northern banshee,” Crow joked.

“Yer neveh know what 'e might do if yer cross 'im,” agreed Badger.

“So wot's ya answer, Badge'? I need to know in words – will ya marry me?” Crow asked.

“...What?”

Badger stared at him, not on the same page at all. Then Crow realised what he'd said and his visible eye went wide. He quickly corrected himself.

“I mean, will ya go out with me?”

“Yeah, sure. Doun't see why not. Since yer asking.”

“...Wait, which one were ya sayin' yes to, goin' out with me or marryin' me?” Crow checked.

Badger winked; “I were saying yes to Crowlo.”

The last thing Crow deserved right now was a straight answer. And as Badger stood up there, he reckoned that it didn't matter if he didn't give him one. What mattered the most was that he was here with Crow and they felt the same way about each other and they were together. In that moment it was just the two of them. Badger didn't even notice the little crowd who'd gathered below to cheer them on, having vacated the chip shop to the sound of the fireworks.

And within that crowd, unknown to Badger, were Roddy and Umid, who nodded to each other in silent agreement that Scraps had done a great job with the firework display.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crow and Badger haven't even been together for one day and Crow's already talking about babies. Though it's Marilyn's baby he's talking about and how they need to get ready for little Guntz coming to visit them. Fortunately, Granny Riddleton is on hand and she's happy to lend them a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...That is easily the weirdest chapter summary I've ever written for this story. Also, I think I've probably said this before, but it never hurts for a refresh – Grasping Liquid goes from the PL timeline presented in the German PL Wikia. This is based on a promotional image for PL3, where the date on the time machine is shown changing from 1974 to 1984. So it assumes that PL3 happened in 1974 and works out other dates based on what we know (such as the prequel trilogy starting three years before Curious Village). However, time has gone on in Grasping Liquid, which is why Badger talks about the 1980s in this chapter, since that's present day for them currently.

Although Badger had been awake for sometime, he didn't want to get up just yet. Part of him worried that Crow's confession at the docks might have all been a vivid dream and the second he rejoined reality it would all be back to how it was before. N-not that there was anything wrong with how it was before...! But the prospect of living in a world where Crow and him were dating or engaged (he had no idea what count them as after he'd ran with that slip-up in Crow's confession) was definitely a very inviting one.

Crow on the other hand had been up and about for a while. Someone had phoned earlier and Badger had heard Crow go from his room to downstairs, where the phone was. He'd been talking for a while now, though Badger couldn't make out what he was saying, just hear the soothing tones of Crow's voice.

Eventually he did make his way back upstairs, however, and peered his head around the door. Time to find out which world Badger was living in then.

“I'm awake,” he yawned, sitting up in his bed.

“That's good. Marilyn's on the line an' she wants to talk to ya,” said Crow. Then, as Badger got up, he added, “Um, we can talk more latah... About us, I mean.”

Badger smiled sheepishly; “Yeah, I'd like that...”

So he supposed that last night really had been real after all. And if what Crow said wasn't enough, then what he heard from Marilyn once he'd got downstairs and picked up the phone was all the evidence he needed.

“Go on then, tell me all about Crow's romantic pirate confession,” Marilyn prompted.

“So yer knew about that?” Badger asked.

“Not until Roddy phoned me last night to tell me about it. It was murder having to wait until this morning to ring you both,” replied Marilyn.

“Wait... Roddeh knows too...?” said Badger. His brain was still in the process of waking up properly and this was a lot of information.

“Oh yeah, he was in on the whole thing, from what I've heard,” Marilyn explained, “He said that as soon as Crow let him know when he was coming back that him and Umid had to set out to decorate the ship Crow had rented. You won't be surprised to hear that he thought the whole thing was such a pain. Though I can hardly blame him, having to put fairy-lights across an entire ship's rigging. All the same, I do wonder if Roddy has a single romantic bone in his body to not be caught up with the charm. I feel sorry for anyone he tries to confess his feelings to.”

“I can't imagine Rod eveh doing owt like that,” Badger agreed, “So were it just 'im and Umid that knew?”

“No, Scraps did as well. He came up from London to do the fireworks, then the three of them went home to leave you guys with the clean-up,” answered Marilyn.

“That's nice of them...” Badger mumbled.

“Don't worry, Crow says that he'll take care of the ship, since the idea was his, so it feels like his mess to clean. Sounds like he's going to be doing a lot of running around, with all those plans he has in mind,” said Marilyn.

“Plans? What sorteh plans?” Badger checked.

He suddenly had visions of Crow frantically hurrying to fancy shops, picking out venues and cakes and flowers and outfits and... and everything for a wedding! Oh dear, Badger should have just said yes to going out with him instead of trying to be all mysterious. Though surely Crow knew that, even if there had been a lot of changes in the 1980s, two guys marrying each other was completely unthinkable.

Marilyn sighed, “That's more about me than you, I'm afraid to say. Or rather, it's more about Guntz. Crow's quite taken with him, isn't he?”

“Yer got that reet,” replied Badger, who was silently glad Crow's plans weren't to do with a wedding after all.

“Well, he's already planning on having Guntz come to visit you both at some point,” Marilyn informed, “Of course he's too young to leave Misthallery right now, but Crow wants to have one of your spare rooms decked out for when he is old enough. So good luck with that.”

“That does sound like Crow,” chuckled Badger.

“Anyway, I haven't even asked you how you feel about all this. You and Crow, I mean,” said Marilyn, not letting them get away from their initial topic of conversation so easily.

“I-I feel... great?” Badger stammered, “Well, yeah, of course I feel great... This is everything I've eveh wanted since I first knew I liked Crow. But now I feel like we're both more readeh fer it than we were back then.”

“Come on, Badger. The Misthallery gossip line needs a bit more than just 'I feel great',” Marilyn teased.

“Yer gan t' tell everyone!” Badger gasped in horror.

“Everyone kind of has some idea anyway. Crow was acting so strange in the last week he was up here that it wasn't hard to put two and two together,” assured Marilyn, “And you can't be cruel enough to deny Charlie the conclusion to your epic love story.”

“Curly doun't even like Crow! And it's nowt epic anyway – just two silleh people trying t' sort their feelings out fer each otheh,” Badger retorted.

“You'll never make a romance writer with that attitude,” Marilyn laughed, “And I'm afraid to say that if you didn't want anyone else to know then it might already be too late. Gus is here in the room with me and I'm sure Roddy and them will have told the rest of the London lot.”

“I doun't mind yer all knowing,” said Badger. And to his surprise, he realised that he didn't; “But me and Crowlo 'aven't 'ad much chance t' talk about it ourselves yet, so I doun't know what to say.”

“Oh really? Then what are you doing gassing on the phone with me then? You should be talking to your boyfriend,” Marilyn said, as if she was rushing him along.

“Crow's not gan anywhere,” assured Badger. It felt weird to hear someone refer to Crow as his boyfriend. He was going to have to get used to that.

“Well, maybe he's not, but I am. I think I hear Guntz crying,” Marilyn replied.

“Yer just said Gus is there. Can't 'e deal with 'im?” Badger argued.

“What was that? I think the line's breaking up, so it's hard to hear you,” hummed Marilyn.

“Ah'reet, I get it. I'll gan talk t' Crow. Honestly, I thought yer were bad enough back when yer used t' stand around the fruit stall gossiping away with Louis, but it seems yer 'aven't changed much there,” Badger scolded.

“Nah, now that he's gone it just means I'm the only one spreading rumours around this town. And believe me when I say that it's twice the work doing that without a partner-in-crime,” said Marilyn, “So anyway, I guess I'll speak to you later. Since no doubt Crow will be ringing a lot to check up on Guntz.”

“Yeah, I bet yer gan t' miss the days when 'e'd just send a letteh or two every week,” Badger replied, “Well, take care Mal. I'll speak t' yer again soon.”

“And hopefully you'll have more to tell me about by then. See you later, Badger,” she concluded.

With that the two of them hung up and Badger went to look for Crow. It turned out that he was in one of the spare rooms, undoubtedly trying to figure out how he could convert it into somewhere for Guntz to stay.

“I doun't see yer putting as much effort int' decking out a room fer Gus and Mal t' stay in,” Badger commented, watching him from the doorway.

“They're adults, they don't need as much effort,” dismissed Crow, “But a baby, Badge'. A baby needs a lotta work.”

“I'll take yer word, since yer the expert,” Badger joked.

“Actually, I'm... not. An' that's kinda scary. I do want this place ready for 'em, but in truth I dunno the first thing about babies,” admitted Crow.

“We'll find someone who is and ask them,” reasoned Badger, “I'm sure there's loads of folk around 'ere who know about babehs. And if there's not then we can always ask Mal.”

“I guess, though I feel bad for bothahin' 'er at the moment,” admitted Crow. Then he turned to look at Badger properly, “Anyway, we've got more than just babies to talk about, 'aven't we.”

Badger smiled; “I 'ope yer not gan t' talk about babehs in regards t' us.”

“Nah, I'd rathah talk about us in regards to us,” replied Crow. He walked over to Badger and then he hesitated. Badger wasn't sure why, but then Crow asked, “Is it okay if I... um, kiss ya?”

“Crow, we've been 'ugging fer ages now and yer never ask about that,” Badger said, with a laugh.

“But kissin' is different,” huffed Crow.

“Fine, it's ah'reet fer yer t' kiss me wheneveh yer want. Within reason, I mean,” Badger answered.

“G-good...” whispered Crow.

He paused for a moment, then stood up on his tip-toes to kiss Badger. Once Badger realised what was happening he bent down a little to make it easier for Crow. Their height difference was definitely something they were going to have to learn to work with in this regard. All the same, this felt good. When they pulled away Crow had an uncharacteristically sheepish smile on his face and Badger wagered that his own face probably looked a little flushed.

“Reckon that's gossip enough fer Marilyn?” Badger joked.

“Nah, we're not nearly scandalous enough for 'er to talk about,” Crow laughed.

Badger looked around the room. It was somewhere that they'd mostly been storing junk in. And given that they specialised in antiques for auctions there was a lot of junk to go around. Clearing it out wasn't going to be a quick job and neither would finding out about what they'd need to do to make this room safe for a baby. He knew that Crow wanted to talk about the two of them, but Badger figured maybe it was a good idea to get the room discussion back on track if it was going to turn out to be Crow's next big project.

“So... got any ideas about this place?” he asked.

“Wow, I must be pretty unromantic if I kiss ya an' then ya straight back to askin' about decoratin',” Crow replied, though he was smiling as he said it.

“It's not that. I just know yer itching t' get on with this. We're gan t' stay the same fer as long as we both want, so that's not gan anywhere. But this room needs t' change soon, so it's best t' focus on that first,” Badger explained.

“Well, I'm not gonna disagree with ya there,” replied Crow, “But before I can even think about that, I've got that ship to clean up. I only rented it 'til the end o' today, so I bettah go get workin' on it.”

“Do yer need any 'elp?” Badger asked.

Crow thought about it for a moment, then answered, “Nah, actually I 'ave anothah idea in mind for ya. An' it's to do with this room.”

“Go on then,” encouraged Badger.

“Ya know that ol' lady who comes to the auctions sometimes?” Crow checked.

“Missus Riddleton?” said Badger.

“Yeah, that's 'er,” Crow replied, “Well she seems to 'ave a big family an' she does at least 'ave a granddaughtah because they come to the auctions togethah sometimes. I bet she knows all about babies.”

“Crow, yer can't just assume that about someone!” gaped Badger, “She might not 'ave eveh 'ad a baby and maybe those two aren't related by blood or summit. Yer just doun't know.”

“Maybe not, but I do know she's in town right now, 'cause I saw 'er outside that puzzle shack o' hers when we were comin' back 'ere yestahday,” Crow said, “Couldn't 'urt to ask, right? She seems like she's happy to talk about most stuff.”

“I guess so,” sighed Badger, “And since I know there's no talking yer outteh summit once yer mind's made up, I'll go do it. If I end up embarrassing meself in front of an old ladeh then I won't be 'appy with yer though.”

“That's the spirit,” cheered Crow, “I bet ya gonna 'ave more fun than I will pullin' lights off a ship.”

“Can we swap?” Badger mumbled.

“No, no, I think it's bettah this way,” assured Crow. Which instantly made Badger wonder if he was nervous about looking silly in front of Mrs. Riddleton as well.

“Okay... Then we both best get off then,” concluded Badger.

With that, they headed out of the room and down to the shop, locking the door behind them as they left. Thankfully it was a Sunday, so they hadn't been going to open today anyway and Crow wouldn't have to worry about missing out on the business. Part of Badger wondered if he'd even planned his confession around cleaning up the boat on a day when the shop was closed, since he was usually quite strict about his schedule. It wouldn't surprise Badger at all.

They said goodbye, with Crow looking as if he was going to go in for another kiss, before he seemed to decide against it and head off. This shy side of him was new and something that Badger found kind of endearing. His mind was still on Crow as he headed off in the other direction, towards the shack that Mrs. Riddleton lived in.

She called it her puzzle shack and it was hard to miss. In a street filled with tall buildings there was a gap between two of them that contained a plot of land with a tiny shack in the middle of it. Badger looked at it every time he went past, though despite it sticking out like a sore thumb, other people didn't seem to pay attention to it. When he'd once said that to Mrs. Riddleton she'd merely laughed and said that only people who had need of the puzzle shack would be able to see it. Which hadn't confused him any less.

One thing it did look a lot like was a shack that Badger had seen in the woods of Misthallery. He used to hang out in those woods a lot when he was younger, when he would become overwhelmed by dealing with people at times. Occasionally when he was wandering around he'd come across a shack that he could swear looked identical to the one in Southampton. It had seemed abandoned, but he'd never dared to look inside. And other times when he was walking the same route he wouldn't see it there, so he did wonder if maybe he'd imagined it.

Right now there was smoke puffing out of the chimney, so Badger assumed that meant Mrs. Riddleton was home. He quietly knocked on the door.

“Come in! It's never locked,” Mrs. Riddleton called from inside.

“R-reet...” mumbled Badger.

He pushed the door, trying not to think about how dangerous it was for an elderly person to announce openly that their house was never locked, especially since she'd sounded so cheerful about it as well. But he then saw that the inside of the shack was almost barren, so there'd be nothing much for potential thieves to steal anyway. Only Mrs. Riddleton was there, standing in the middle of the room with a big smile on her face.

“Oh, you're one of the lads from that antiques shop, aren't you? Such a good shop that is – I find so many puzzles hidden amongst the goods you have on display there. And all those vases, tea pots and other such goodies do make excellent places to store them in,” she said.

Badger had no idea what she meant by that, but she was known to get a lot of items, both in the shop and at the auctions. It wasn't often that she did turn up, since from what she said it sounded like she travelled a lot, but whenever she did she'd always talk about puzzles. Her granddaughter, the aptly named Puzzlette, was exactly the same way.

“Glad we can 'elp,” Badger said, “Though, um, I came 'ere t'day because I need t' ask yer about summit, Missus Riddleton...”

“Please, do call me Granny Riddleton! I won't have a nice boy like you call me something as formal as Mrs., not on my watch. So what's the problem, sonny? Have you got a puzzle you're struggling with?” she replied.

“I-I guess yer could call it that, Miss- ...I mean, Granneh Riddleton,” Badger said, “Yer see, one of our friends 'as just 'ad a babeh. And we want t' make our 'ouse safe fer when they come t' stay with us. Onleh we doun't know owt about babehs, so we 'ave no idea what t' do. Crow thought that mebbe yer would know, though it's okay if yer doun't...”

Granny Riddleton burst into laughter that was so fruity Badger felt embarrassed just to listen to it; “Oh my! That's certainly a puzzle that I know all about all right! I've seen more than my fair share of babies in my time.”

“So yer can 'elp us?” Badger checked.

“I'd be glad to, sonny!” said Granny Riddleton, “Just let me know what kind of advice you're after and I'll see what I can do.”

“Well, we got this room that we're decorating fer the babeh. But we're not sure where t' start. We doun't even 'ave a cot or owt like that,” Badger answered.

“You are going to need a cot, yes,” Granny Riddleton agreed, “Babies grow fast over the first few years though. So you'll need to think about what kind of age you expect the child will be when they stay with you.”

“Probableh a few months old,” replied Badger, “Our friends live in Mist'allereh, so I doubt they'll be able t' bring 'im all the way 'ere before that.”

“Misthallery, eh? Great place, loads of puzzles there,” chimed Granny Riddleton. And even if he still wasn't sure what she meant by puzzles, Badger could agree that there were a lot of mysteries in his home town that he might never know the answer to; “Anyway, I reckon a few months old is a good time to start taking a baby out into the world. If you start young then he'll be a world-class traveller by the time he's a teenager, just like my Puzzlette was. Plus, it gives you time to get that room ready.”

“That's what we're 'oping. So if yer could... mebbe make a list of what we need or summit, then-”

“-Oh, I'll do better than that,” Granny Riddleton cut in, “Just you leave it to your dear old grandmother. I've got some friends who owe me favours, so I'm sure between them we can find cots, cradles and everything else you need to make that baby feel at home.

“Yer doun't 'ave t' put yerself t' all that trouble,” assured Badger. Not about to embarrass himself by admitting that he didn't know the difference between a cradle and a cot.

“Nonsense! The Riddleton family always helps out those in need. Do a good turn for others as they would for you if you ever need it,” Granny Riddleton replied, “So just leave this to your Granny and I'll see what I can find.”

It was a lost and confused-looking Badger who joined Crow on the docks later that day, pulling himself up onto the rigging to help Crow untangle the lights. He noted that Crow raised an eyebrow at him, probably concerned about how distant he seemed.

“Well, 'ow'd it go with Riddleton then?” he checked.

“Um, well I think I now owe our services t' the Riddleton family if eveh they need us. Also, I gained a granneh. Doun't think I've 'ad one of those before...” Badger replied.

Crow now looked just as confused as Badger was, but he shrugged and concluded, “Sounds like it went well.”

***

Granny Riddleton did come through for them. The next time Badger visited her at the shack she'd managed to gather together an assortment of baby-related items that had apparently been donated by various members of her family. She'd even helped him carry them back to the shop, with surprising strength for a woman her age, and then went to check out the room they were planning to redecorate. After that she'd been a regular visitor, bringing more goods and even helping Crow to put them all in place.

On the last day, when she'd deemed the room as ready, she brought them an old black cat, which she dumped into Crow's arms.

“Keats is the finishing touch,” she announced.

“Wot do ya mean?” asked Crow, as he stared down at the cat in his arms. It had gone back to sleep as if being passed from one person to another made no difference.

“If you can look after him then you can look after a baby,” replied Granny Riddleton, “He's getting old now, but I said to him, I said – look here, Keats, you need to act like a baby for these two boys who are going to look after you while Granny's out of town. And I like to think he agreed. He's a well-travelled cat, but I don't think he wanted to come on holiday with me this time. The outback might be a bit warm for him, you see, and I don't fancy his chances against one of those koalas if they decide to pick a fight with him.”

It sounded a lot like she just wanted someone to look after her cat while she was out of town. Though after everything she'd done for them that was the least they could do in return.

“Well, we'll do our best to care for 'im like 'e's our own,” Crow promised.

“There's a good lad. Now just pop him in the cot, like you would a real baby,” encouraged Granny Riddleton.

Probably feeling a bit silly, Crow carried Keats over to the cot and placed him down in it, making soft cooing noises as he did.

“Is that okay?” he asked.

“You didn't tuck him in,” Granny Riddleton pointed out.

Badger couldn't see Crow's face, but if he'd thought this was at all weird then he didn't make it obvious, instead just tucking the cat into the blanket. Keats seemed to sleep right through it.

“There you go. Now, when he wants fed he'll let you know, just like a real baby. Though I doubt he'd thank you for giving him baby food, so I've left some of his cans in a bag downstairs,” said Granny Riddleton, “He gets fed twice a day and if he asks for more than that then he's just being greedy. Don't overfeed him or he'll get lazy and not pick up any puzzles.”

“Okay...” Crow and Badger mumbled in union. They nodded along, fearing what would happen if they didn't agree with her.

“And on that note – I'm off! See you in two weeks, boys!” cheered Granny Riddleton.

She left at speed, with Crow and Badger staring after her in total awe. Behind them, Keats carried on sleeping peacefully.

“Ya don't think... she 'elped us make this room just for 'er cat?” Crow asked.

“No idea. But it would explain the fish pattern on the wallpaper and the little birds on the mobile,” mumbled Badger.

“I thought she was just goin' for a seaside feel. Aren't those birds not supposed to be seagulls?” Crow replied. They both looked over at the mobile, then realised how crazy they were sounding. So Crow concluded, “Wotevah 'er plans were they 'elped out all o' us, so let's not complain, ey?”

With that, they left the cat to his nap.

***

It was the middle of the night when Badger was woken up by the phone ringing. He blearily pulled himself up out of bed and headed downstairs, wondering who could be calling at this hour.

“...'ello?” he said, with the faint trace of a yawn.

“Hey Badger, it's Gus. I didn't wake you up, did I?”

“Well, it is the middle of the night,” Badger mumbled, “But doun't worry about it. What's up, Gus?”

“Oh yeah, it is... Sorry about that, Badger. You kind of lose track of time when you're looking after a baby. I forget that Guntz's regular feeding time isn't everyone else's regular time to be up and about,” Gus admitted, “Anyway, I'm calling for Marilyn. Apparently she'd said to Crow that we could come down with Guntz soon. Only now she needs to help her parents make another big delivery, so she's not going to be around on that date.”

“That's a shame, Crow were realleh looking forward t' it,” replied Badger, “I'll let 'im know in the morning.”

“Thanks, Badger. I mean, I'm still going to be in Misthallery looking after Guntz, so if he wants I could come down with him on my own. There's no problem there,” Gus offered.

But before Badger could reply he heard a loud yodel from upstairs in the mock-baby room. It was terrifying, Badger almost jumped out of his skin in panic. Then he heard Crow jump out of bed and rush through to the room.

“That sounds great, Gus,” Badger hurriedly murmured, much more distracted by whatever was going on upstairs.

“Are you sure?” Gus checked.

“Yeah, yeah, it's fine. We'll see yer then. Goodnight,” Badger dismissed.

Then without thinking he hung up and dashed up the stairs to see what was going on. When he reached the room Crow was bent over the cot and a loud purring could be heard. He straightened up when Badger came in, smiling sleepily at him.

“Nothin' to worry about. Looks like Keats just got tangled in the blanket when 'e woke up an' tried to get out of the cot, but 'e's sorted now,” Crow assured, “Guess we'll 'ave to get used to wakin' up in the night when Guntz is 'ere. Who was on the phone, by the way?”

“It were Gus,” Badger answered, as he walked over to the cot, where Keats was now rubbing up against Crow's side, “Just letting us know that Mal can't make it now, but 'im and Guntz are still coming.”

“That's a shame about Marilyn, I really wanted to show 'er Southampton,” replied Crow, “But there'll always be othah times, I guess. For now let's just get back to bed before anythin' else decides to disturb us.”

Badger wasn't going to disagree with that. The two of them made their way back to their own rooms, with Keats jumping down from the cot to follow Crow into his. It looked like Badger had some feline competition for Crow's affections there.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Gus and Guntz arrive in Southampton for their visit it fast becomes apparent that Crow is very taken with looking after Guntz. But even if Badger might feel that he's going over the top, there are times when Crow's dedication proves to be for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens in this chapter is inspired by the same thing happening to someone in my family once. It was very scary at the time, but thankfully turned out fine. Also, this chapter contains some mild homophobia that would be period-typical for the 1980s, just to give a heads up about that.

When the two of them greeted Gus and Guntz at the train station, Crow was a buzz of excitement. Although it was obvious that this was directed towards Guntz more than it was Gus. Not that Gus seemed to mind, he passed Guntz over to Crow without hesitation and then chuckled as Crow held the baby with a delicate sense of wonder.

“Little Guntz... 'ello there! Though ya ain't as little as I remembah,” Crow cooed.

“Yeah, he's had a bit of a growth spurt,” replied Gus, “Because he was premature, we had to be very careful for the first few months. But Mari's mum says that he's about the average size for his age now, which is a relief.”

“So 'ow was the journeh?” asked Badger, feeling that if Crow wasn't going to do it then he at least should talk to Gus about something other than his child.

“Not so bad. I always thought that it'd be longer, but now I know that's not the case I'll try to visit more often. Guntz didn't fuss at all, so that was a bonus,” said Gus.

“Nah, little Guntz is nevah a fuss, ain't ya not?” Crow insisted.

“You won't be saying that after he's been here for a few days,” Gus assured him.

“We'll manage. Badge' an' be 'ave bin getting' lotsa practise wakin' up durin' the night. That cat made sure of it,” said Crow.

“It's a long storeh,” Badger cut in, before Gus could ask any questions, “Now let's get yer bags back t' the Black Raven's Nest. Then we can show yer around Southampton.”

“Looking forward to it,” Gus replied.

It didn't take long to get back to the shop after that, though the journey was slowed a little by Crow's fawning over Guntz. Badger privately wished that Gus would take him back off Crow, but then he supposed that after the train journey Gus was glad of a break. They'd timed Gus's arrival to be on a Sunday, so the shop would be shut and neither of them had to worry about it. That way they could all spend time together today and then take turns during the rest of the week.

As soon as they'd gotten Gus's bags upstairs, Crow was eagerly giving him the grand tour of the building. Gus looked impressed by everything, though Badger wasn't sure if it was genuine or if he was playing it up for Crow's sake. Either way, he was glad. Crow had put a lot of effort into this place.

“This is Guntz's room through 'ere,” Crow announced, as he opened the door to show Gus, “An' we got Badgah's room ready for ya to stay in. Badge' is gonna be sleepin' with me this week.”

“So you two don't usually share a room?” Gus asked.

“N-no...! We've onleh been dating fer a few months!” gasped Badger. How could Gus suggest something so scandalous?

“I see. My bad,” Gus hummed. He sounded more amused than Badger would have liked.

“Um, anyway,” Crow interrupted, “The bathroom's that door down there an' the kitchen is the one next to the livin' room. Most o' the 'ouse is upstairs, 'cause the shop takes up the bottom floor. An' we've 'ad a basement put in for the auctions, but I'll show ya that latah.”

“I'd been wondering how you did those,” replied Gus, “So is it like the one in London? Roddy's told us that when you were there you did out the basement of Umid's house for auctions.”

“Well, it's... kinda much smallah scale than that,” Crow admitted, “Our auctions ain't nearly as big as the ones they do there, so we don't need as much space. But Rod did come 'elp us dig out the basement when we were makin' it. Kinda 'andy 'avin' a buildah's son so close by.”

“Yeah, he really seems to have taken to it. Once his apprenticeship with his dad is up I bet he'll stay on,” agreed Gus.

“Roddeh's a 'ard workeh, so it'd suit him,” Badger added, “Anyway, are we getting summit t' eat before we 'ead out?”

“Why don't we eat while we're out?” suggested Crow, “There's plenty o' good places nearby, so we could get started on showin' 'em off to Gus.”

“No objections there,” Gus agreed, “I'll just get Guntz's food and bottle ready, then we can get going.”

Once they were out into Southampton it didn't take long for them to find a cafe that Crow sometimes went to. They'd thought about heading down to their regular chippy, but it was too early in the afternoon for fish 'n' chips. This way they could all get something small and save themselves for later.

They stayed in the cafe for a while, catching up on everything from the last few months. Even though they'd all been in more regular contact since Crow and Badger's visit there were some stories that were told better face to face. Especially when you were as animated a story-teller as Crow was, with his grand hand-gestures making even the dullest of events seem like an epic adventure.

After that they headed out around the town for real, with Gus getting the Crow approved tour (plus added Badger commentary) of Southampton. Sometimes you don't realise just how big the place you live is until you're showing it to someone else, Badger realised. And that was definitely the case today. They spent more than an hour at the docks alone, but then that was one of the main attractions, at least in Crow's eyes.

It was already dark by the time they got back to the Black Raven's Nest, with Guntz hardly able to keep his eyes open. He kept drifting off, only to be grumpily awoken again whenever someone spoke too loudly.

“I'll get him off to bed now,” Gus said, “Then maybe you can show me this auction room of yours.”

Even Crow had to agree that it was best to say goodbye to Guntz for now. Badger half expected him to ask if he could put him to bed himself, but by contrast Crow watched quietly as Gus did, clearly taking in everything so he'd know what to do for next time.

After that they went down to the basement, though it didn't take long to show Gus around. The auction room here was smaller even than the one in Misthallery, but it was enough for what they needed it for. Crow swelled with pride when Gus said that he felt it had that proper Black Raven feel to it.

Then once they all climbed out of the basement everyone quietly agreed that they should retire for an early night. It had been a long day, particularly for Gus, with his travelling, and as much as they all enjoyed it, there'd be more time tomorrow when they were all refreshed.

Badger felt nervous sharing a bed with Crow for the first time, but in his usual fashion Crow acted like it was no big deal. He was shy in some regards, Badger had learned, but when it came to being close, Crow had been hugging Badger since long before they'd even started dating. So he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Badger and snuggling into his back.

This was nice. Badger could get used to this.

***

Badger wasn't sure what time it was when he was stirred awake. There was muffled sobbing from another room, but he didn't even notice that until Crow was already up and away to deal with it. By the time he had willed himself awake, he figured that it was Guntz crying.

From his own room across the hall he heard the bed creak as Gus stirred awake as well. But then it seemed that Gus had heard Crow go through to deal with it and decided to let him have this one. Badger could hardly blame him. Having to do this every night must be exhausting and Crow was so keen to look after Guntz as much as he could.

But after several minutes the crying didn't stop. It was then that Badger heard Crow's footsteps thunder hurriedly downstairs. Gus must have heard too, because he did then get up and go after him. Badger waited a few moments longer, only to hear the two of them talking in loud, worried voices, while Guntz cried all the while. That was when he knew something was definitely wrong.

He got up and went downstairs, to find that Crow was on the phone, while Gus cradled the crying Guntz close to his chest, rocking him and humming a lullaby. Not that it had any effect, Guntz continued to wail.

“No, we dunno wot's wrong with 'im, that's why we're callin'!” Crow yelled into the phone, “I won't calm down! I've got a baby 'ere whose face 'as swollen up like a... a... I dunno wot, but it ain't good!” There was a pause as Crow listened to the person on the other end, then he replied, “...Thanks. We'd bring 'im in ourselves, but we don't 'ave a car...”

He hung up, then turned to look at Badger. There was panic in his eyes.

“What's 'appened?” Badger asked.

“That's wot we wanna find out,” Crow replied, “One side o' Guntz's face 'as swollen up somethin' awful, but we have no idea why. He must be in a lotta pain...”

“This has never happened before...” whispered Gus, who sounded in even more of a state than Crow, “I've never seen him like this...”

“They're sendin' an ambulance, so 'opefully we won't 'afta wait too long,” said Crow.

While they waited for the ambulance to arrive Badger couldn't get a good look at Guntz, who Gus kept close to him the whole time. It wasn't until he was passed across to one of the guys who came with the ambulance that Badger was able to see his face. And Crow hadn't been exaggerating - one side of it was puffed up massively with a painful-looking swelling.

“It looks like an allergic reaction to something,” the man said, “We'll see what we can do here.”

He applied some sort of cream to Guntz's face, but even after what Badger assumed was the right amount of time, there were no improvements. Clearly this wasn't the result that the man was expecting. He looked across at the three of them.

“I'm sorry to say this, but we'll have to take him into hospital to find out exactly what's happening,” he said.

“That's fine. Do whatever you need to help him,” Gus pleaded.

After that the three of them got into the back of the ambulance, along with the man and Guntz. Crow was patting Gus reassuringly on the back as the man spoke to the driver. Then they pulled away. It took them hardly any time at all to get to hospital, but between the sound of the siren and the thumping in Badger's chest, it might as well have taken a year.

When they arrived Guntz was rushed inside. He'd been placed on a stretcher that looked far too big for him and was still wailing loudly. His face was worse than ever.

“Only family beyond this point, I'm afraid,” said a nurse, once they'd gone through a few sets of doors.

Gus looked terrified at the prospect of being left alone in this situation, so Crow reared up, his temper still on edge.

“We're all family 'ere! Anywhere this child goes, I go as well!” he barked.

“Of course, sir. Come this way...” muttered the nurse.

“I-I'll wait out 'ere,” Badger cut in. And when Crow raised an eyebrow at him, he added, “...Just in case.”

“All right. We'll keep ya posted when we can,” Crow said, seeming to be satisfied.

With that, the others headed through the next set of doors, leaving Badger to slump down onto a chair in the waiting room. Several other people looked at him for a moment, before going back to reading magazines or talking amongst themselves. Badger assumed that they probably weren't the only people who had gone through this way today, but to him it felt like they might as well have been. Right now the whole world seemed like Guntz, Gus, Crow and himself. It was terrifying. He didn't deal well with hospitals at the best of times, but this wasn't like any of his visits to his dad or even the time when Marilyn had been giving birth. Whatever was going on with Guntz right now, Badger didn't know what it was or what could be done about it. And that was the worst feeling of all.

Perhaps he was selfish to not go through with them, but he knew that he'd only be in the way. There were people through there who knew what they were doing, whereas Badger would be just another body shuffling about as Crow demanded answers.

While he sat there, staring off at the wall, he wondered if he should call Marilyn. He very nearly got up to find a pay-phone so he could do just that. But the more he thought about it, the less he knew what he'd say. Marilyn had a right to know what was going on with Guntz, but Badger wasn't the right person to tell her. He didn't know much of the details himself. Hopefully by the time Gus or Crow came out they'd know more about what was going on and would be able to tell her.

Time moved slowly and Badger was painfully aware of it. There was a clock on the wall and he found himself looking at it a lot, only for the hands to barely seem to move at all. He tried to distract himself by watching the TV in the corner of the room, which was tuned into some news channel that Badger was unfamiliar with, but he couldn't focus at all.

After far too long, Crow came back out of the doors again. Badger jumped out of his seat and rushed over to him.

“Well? What's 'appening?” he asked.

Crow smiled. That was good. He put a hand on Badger's shoulder to settle him, which was just what Badger needed right now.

“Looks like 'e's gonna be fine,” he said, “It was an allergic reaction, yeah, but it was to a 'air that was caught in 'is bottom eyelid. That's why it 'ad swollen up so badly an' also why the cream did nothin' back at the 'ouse, because the 'air was still there in 'is eyelid. They think it was from an animal...”

“Keats...” Badger mumbled, as realisation dawned on him.

The baby room had been used for Keats while Granny Riddleton was on holiday. Of course they'd cleaned it out before Guntz arrived, as even without knowing about the allergies they didn't want a baby to stay in a bed full of cat hairs, but clearly it hadn't been enough.

“We're the worst...” Badger sighed.

“At least 'e's okay,” reasoned Crow, “They don't 'ave any pets back at Mist'allery, so they didn't know about 'is allergies before today.”

“What's gan on in there now then?” Badger asked.

“They've got the 'air out, put some more cream on an' the swellin' is goin' down,” Crow said, “It must be gettin' bettah, because 'e's finally stopped cryin' an' 'e might even go to sleep soon. Gus wanted to stay with 'im, o' course, but I figured I should come tell ya. We can both go through now, if ya want.”

“Yeah, that'd be good,” agreed Badger.

Perhaps it was cowardly on his part, but he felt better being in there now that he knew Guntz was on the mend. He wouldn't be in the way any more and everyone would be feeling better.

Gus looked worn out when they got through to the room and over towards the strange-looking cot that Guntz was resting in. He smiled weakly up at the both of them.

“He's drifting off at last,” Gus told them, “I'm so glad... So, so glad...”

“We're sorreh about the cat 'air,” Badger said.

“It's okay, none of us were to know,” replied Gus, his voice was free from blame, “But if you don't mind, I'd rather Guntz not stay in that room for now.”

“We undahstand,” Crow assured him, “First thing in the mornin' I'll go get 'im a brand new cot and we'll put it in the room with ya. Then aftah the two o' ya 'ave gone 'ome we'll propahly air out that baby room an' see what we can do to get it cat-free for next time.”

“Thanks, I'd appreciate it,” said Gus, “Though I feel bad that you went to all that effort to make a baby room only for it to be for nothing.”

“Don't say that! Ya nevah know when othah Black Ravens who 'ave kids might be stayin' ovah or even when ya gonna be 'ere again. A baby room is a 'andy thing to 'ave,” Crow insisted.

“If you say so,” Gus replied, “Though I don't think any of the others are going to have kids any time soon. You're all more sensible than Mari and me...”

“The two of yer are the most sensible people I know,” Badger argued.

Gus shook his head; “We're wise, not sensible. There's a difference. And sometimes I'm not even sure we're wise. But speaking of Marilyn, I should call her and let her know what's happened. I hate to leave Guntz like this, but would you two mind looking after him for a minute?”

“We'd be glad to,” said Crow.

With that, Gus smiled and nodded at them, before getting up to leave. Crow took to the seat next to the cot after that, looking in at Guntz diligently as he slept. Now that everything was settled, Badger was able to get a good look at him, too. His face looked a lot better now, although there was still some evidence of the swelling. Who'd have thought that one little car hair could do so much damage?

“Next time'll be different...” Crow whispered to Guntz, as if making a promise.

“We learn from our mistakes, yeah,” added Badger, “And even if tonight's been terrible, at least Mal and Gus now know 'e's got these allergies. So they'll be able t' look out fer them in future.”

“There is that,” Crow agreed.

They stayed in silence after that, letting the relief of it all being over settle in. Crow never looked away from Guntz once until Gus returned and even then he was reluctant to surrender the chair next to the cot back to Gus. He did eventually though, but stayed close as Gus filled them in on what Marilyn had said. She'd been understandably shocked, but at least he'd been able to tell her that Guntz was now fine, so there wasn't as much reason for her to fret.

“I was worried that I wouldn't get through to her in Dropstone – that's where they're making the delivery to – but she'd given me a number just in case,” Gus explained, as he was telling them about the call, “Even though this was supposed to be a bit of a break for her away from Guntz, I doubt she's really stopped thinking about him since she left. It's hard to turn off being a mother.”

“I'll bet...” Crow agreed.

It was weird to hear him say that, Badger realised. Even though Crow barely saw Guntz and this one week visit was all they had planned for the moment, in some ways he kept thinking about Guntz and what he could do to make the visit best for him. Sure, it might not have worked out like they'd planned, but his heart was in the right place.

One of the nurses had appeared in the doorway now, but both Crow and Gus were still too distracted watching Guntz sleep to notice. So Badger walked across himself, making sure not to disturb them.

“Everything ah'reet?” he asked.

“Yes, I was just coming in to have a look, but I can see that he's fine,” she answered, “I don't mean to be... rude in anyway, I don't have any problem with... you know, but I've never met any in real life. Even if it's not what you'd expect, they make good parents, don't they?”

At first Badger had no idea what she was talking about. Then he looked back towards Gus and Crow and his eyes widened as he clicked. He turned back to the nurse and hurriedly tried to explain.

“N-no, yer got it wrong...! Gus and Crow aren't... They're not... Well, Gus is the fatheh, but 'im and Crow are just f-friends, like...” he stammered.

“Oh, um, of course!” the nurse squeaked, “I'm sorry for making assumptions like that... It's just that when I saw them with the baby a-and I've never, eh, met any before, like I said... But they seemed, w-well, never mind...! I sh-should be going now, lots to do!”

She hurried away after that, looking like she wanted the ground to swallow her up. And as much as Badger felt bad for her, he kind of wished the ground would swallow him up as well. Imagine thinking that Crow and Gus were a thing! Okay, she was right about Crow's interest in men and about Gus being the father, but these were two v-very separate matters...!

While Badger was stressing to himself about this mistake, Crow got up and walked over. He put a hand on Badger's shoulder once again, but this time it made him jump. Though as soon as he saw it was just Crow, Badger settled, moving closer to hug him.

“Somethin' up, Badge'?” Crow checked.

“N-nah, not really...” mumbled Badger, “Um, did yer 'ear any of that?”

“Any o' wot?” Crow replied.

“Never mind,” Badger answered, with a sigh, “It's nowt important... Just a nurse saying that... that...”

“That wot?” prompted Crow.

Badger looked at Crow, then he looked across at the bed, where Guntz was resting under Gus's careful watch. If it hadn't been for Crow quickly realising that something was wrong and calling an ambulance then they might not have gotten through all of this as fast as they had done. Or worse, perhaps more serious damage could have been done. It was thanks to Crow that Guntz was okay now. So maybe... the nurse had been right about something else as well.

He looked back at Crow, seeing him in a new light once again. It seemed that even now he could learn something about Crow that would impress him more than he was already.

“...It doun't matteh,” Badger dismissed. He reached forward and kissed Crow's forehead; “...All this 'as shown me that yer gan t' make a great dad someday, Crowlo.”

Crow laughed awkwardly, “I don't think that's somethin' the two o' us should be thinkin' about, Badge'.”

“Strangeh things 'ave 'appened,” argued Badger, “And when it comes to us, we're pretteh strange t' start with.”

“Wouldn't disagree with ya there,” Crow concluded, as he rested his head on Badger's chest.

The two of them stood like that for a while longer, allowing their world to just be them in that moment of time, knowing that everything was now all right.


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Partly to keep his mind off the worrying situation with Louis, Badger agrees to go to Misthallery with Crow, so that they can see Wren while she's there for a visit. But an unexpected reunion with another holiday-maker sees to it that completely different seeds of worry are planted in Badger's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another history note here - the O-Levels that Wren mentions are what would later be referred to as the A-Levels that we have in the UK education system today.

After they'd seen Gus and Guntz back off to Misthallery, Crow turned to look at Badger and said something that would have him walking on cloud nine all the way home from the train station.

“Ya know... about that room sharin' thing... It's been pretty nice an' I reckon we both got into it easy enough. So why don't we... stick at it? Would mean we'd 'ave a spare room if any o' the othahs come visitin' again...” He looked off to the side as he spoke, clearly nervous.

And while Badger wouldn't have met his eye even if he had been looking at him, the answer he gave was as clear as his embarrassment.

“Yeah, I'd like that...”

That conversation was about the most noteworthy thing that happened in the few months that followed the visit. On many occasions Badger caught himself marvelling at how strange it was that everything had become so regular. True, they had been living in Southampton for a little more than three years and they'd been dating for an increasing amount of months, but even so, their days now were a far cry from back in Misthallery or London, when it seemed that Badger's life was a constant run of drama, happening too fast for him to keep up with.

By contrast to how it had been back then, it was now Crow who revelled in the stability. London had changed him. And, thanks to Badger's help (he allowed himself a touch of arrogance in thinking this) he wasn't as scared of travelling as he had been, he still preferred to keep his feet on the ground somewhere steady. After being shifted around and being able to lose it all due to silly mistakes, what Crow valued was having a place that he could call his own and no one could take away from him. Badger couldn't blame him for that.

Yet in Badger's case, the shoe was now on the other foot. It wasn't that he felt the wanderlust Crow had done in the early days and he dearly loved living at the Black Raven's Nest with Crow more than anything. But still... there were times when he wanted to get up and go more than he expected. The big world out there was no longer scary – it was filled with old friends who he wanted to visit and check up on.

In some cases that was easier than others. It wasn't hard for Badger to arrange a trip to either London or Misthallery, but Northumberland was much further away and as for Liverpool...

...It wasn't that Badger hadn't tried.

He'd called Louis so many times. After their first meet-up there he'd hoped it might open a door for getting Louis back in touch with the rest of them and that, whatever it was that had made Louis feel trapped, Badger could eventually help him through it.

But...

Louis had stopped writing back to Crow. Or Marilyn, which was even more troubling. He didn't answer calls any more either. After scouring the yellow pages, Badger had found his parent's phone number, but the response he'd gotten from them was alarming – they'd claimed that Louis had moved out a long time ago and that they'd be grateful if Badger didn't call them again.

He was actually planning to set out for Liverpool himself when Crow had stopped him and this was the biggest thing that had happened in the months after Gus's visit.

“We all care about Lozza an' I know 'e was ya best friend, but...” Crow trailed off here, not knowing what he could argue. After a long pause, he said what he'd probably been wanting to avoid, “...Wot if ya go there an' ya find 'im... find 'im dead or somethin' like that... Or 'e m-might not even be in Livahpool anymore... Maybe 'e just left...”

“Then if I do find 'im at least I'll know, even if it's the worst news,” Badger retorted.

“An' if ya don't?” Crow pressed, “This could go on forevah!”

“It... look, 'e has t' be somewhere!” Badger snapped.

“Badge', Louis knows that 'e can always come to ya. If 'e needs ya 'elp then I know for sure that 'e'll just turn up on the doorstep one day,” promised Crow.

“But... 'e didn't seem t' want t' bring us int' it...” Badger said. He wanted to believe what Crow was saying, but he couldn't.

“Look, I know I'm bein' a bit 'arsh 'ere, but it seems like Louis's situation 'as been the same for a while. So while I'm not gonna stop ya from searchin' for 'im latah, does it really need to be right now? Come on, it isn't as if ya see Wren much these days eithah,” reasoned Crow.

Badger didn't want to agree with him. He could have argued that Wren wasn't in any immediate danger, but then he didn't know for sure that Louis was either. And he did want to see her. It felt like such a long time since he had done. So her visit to Misthallery would be... would be nice. Perhaps he could put his concerns about Louis on the shelf for a while, even if it was hard for him to accept.

“Fine, I'll drop it fer now,” Badger promised, “And I woun't bring it up when we're in Mist'allereh eitheh. Doun't want t' make everyone fret.”

“I'm sorry, Badge', but it... might be for the best,” said Crow.

***

It wasn't that their talk had made them fall out as such, but it left a definitely awkward feeling in the air as the two of them headed up to Misthallery. Even Puzzlette, Granny Riddleton's granddaughter who was looking after the shop for them while they were away, had commented on them seeming like sourpusses and needing to turn their frowns upside down before they left.

The fresh air and familiar sights did seem to do them good, however. They hadn't arranged to get someone to pick them up from the train station in the next town over, but the path from there to Misthallery was a nice one and put them both in better spirits.

“This walk seemed t' take fereveh when we were little,” Badger thought aloud, “Now that we're much talleh it 'ardleh takes any time.”

“Speak for yaself!” joked Crow, who had still stayed rather short all these years, in comparison to the steady growth spurts Badger had received, “But yeah, does seem like a shortah journey now. Maybe 'cause when we were kids we 'ad to do it all the time an' it was kinda annoyin'.”

Badger didn't disagree with that.

Their journey was over quickly and as the two of them made their way into the market the first people they were greeted by turned out to be both Wren herself and Marilyn, who were chatting over by the fruit stall.

“Marilyn, Wren, 'ey!” Crow called, as they walked over to the stall.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” said Marilyn, “And here you said you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.”

“Wanted it to be a surprise,” Crow dismissed, “So 'ow are ya, Wren? Bin keepin' busy?”

“More than you know,” Wren laughed, “It's a wonder I managed to get Socket to do his job long enough that I could take a break from it.”

“Yeah, what 'appened with that?” Badger asked, “We 'eard that Socket got an apprenticeship with a mechanic and yer were planning t' gan t' uni, but things didn't work out?”

“I think they worked out as well as they could,” said Wren, she looked as if she was trying to hide how relieved she felt that things hadn't gone to the original plan, “At first I was heartbroken that I couldn't go to university. You know how engrossed I got into my studies... And Mum said we'd take out a loan and everything, but I just didn't want her to get into any more debt over me. So I... gave up on it. People tell me that I could have gone far in university with my brains, but you know what? I've never felt so free as I did since I got away from the stress of school. Socket was right that the constant studying was... messing me up, but I'm glad that I've at least got O-Levels. They can't hurt to have.”

“Well, at the end o' the day wotevah make ya 'appiest is the most important,” Crow replied, “So wot are ya doin' now then?”

“That's the thing, when Socket got his apprenticeship it... didn't work out either,” admitted Wren, “We all thought that working with the mechanics would be best for him, but he couldn't stay focused at all. He just wanted to be off doing his own thing, not fixing cars and learning about MOTs everyday. So he... mostly stopped going. And weirdly enough, one day when they called, I offered to go in and do some cover work for him. I'm surprised they let me, but I've been enjoying it ever since and it's a decent income.”

“We're so pleased fer yer,” cheered Badger, “So what's Socket doing now?”

“Tinkering away in his shed, like always,” Wren said, “I wish I had a better answer for you than that. Hopefully he'll find something else soon, but Chillingham is such a small place... Even I have to travel to Seahouses for the apprenticeship.”

“Socket is tough, 'e'll find somethin',” Crow reasoned, “It wouldn't be fair to stick 'im in a job that wasn't right for 'im.”

“I just wish his perfect job would make itself more obvious. We can't just sit around forever hoping that he'll invent something that'll make him famous...” Wren sighed.

“Next time he's free have him come down here and I'll have another talk with him,” suggested Marilyn, though it seemed more to be to get the conversation out of the slump it had wandered into than anything else, because she then added, “We should probably get a move on for dinner, now that we've got two more mouths to feed. Sean's at the fishing spot by the river. Who wants to go let him know?”

“Badge' an' me will, since we made the problem,” Crow volunteered.

“Sounds good. Just try not to scare him too much,” warned Marilyn. They all knew how nervous Sean could be.

“I'll do what I can,” Crow laughed.

After that, him and Badger waved the other two off and headed away from the market again to the old fishing spot. Badger hadn't spent a lot of time there himself when he was younger, because he could never stomach fishing. The worms and the hooks were just too much for him. Just thinking about it was enough to make him not want to touch fish for months... But he knew it had been a regular pastime for some of the others when they were younger. Often the black market would keep them busy, but if there was ever a slow autumn day where the weather wasn't too bad, it wasn't unlikely for Roddy or... or Louis to head to the fishing spot. Badger had been told that Arianna had gotten into it as well after the spectre incident. He supposed that as long as you had the stomach for the... hooking part that it must be a relaxing way to spend time.

When they got there, the first thing they noticed was that Sean wasn't the only person around. It was easy to forget that Misthallery was a tourist town now, but the presence of people who weren't from around here, lazing away their afternoons, was enough of a reminder. It looked like someone, maybe Bucky, had the business-sense to set up a shack selling rods, bait and licenses. Badger wondered what their old fish scientist, Marion, thought of that, assuming she was still working over in the woods.

Sean almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Crow and Badger, holding the bucket of fish up in front of him as if it was some kind of peace offering.

“Looks like ya got a good amount there,” Crow said, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible.

“Th-th-thanks...” mumbled Sean.

“Marilyn wanted t' know if yer got enough fer everyone, now that we're 'ere as well. Looks like yer do,” Badger said.

“Y-yeah... I'll, um, g-go tell h-her...” Sean replied.

With that, he packed away his equipment at an alarming pace, shut it all into a locker next to the shack (they must rent the lockers out to locals, Badger assumed) and then headed off with his bucket of fish before Badger and Crow could properly wish him goodbye.

“Remind ya o' anyone?” teased Crow, once he was gone.

“Leave it off, Crowlo, I were neveh that bad! ...Were I?” Badger said.

“Ya weren't far off,” said Crow, “But anyway, I guess that's us done 'ere.”

Before they could head after Sean though, it seemed that they'd caught the notice of someone else. Badger wasn't sure how they'd missed him in the crowd, since he easily stood out wherever he went, but then he probably had been sat down fishing before he saw the two of them.

“If it ain't me little Sout'ampton businessmen visitin' their 'ome turf!” boomed the cheerful voice of Alphonse Dalston.

He made his way over to them and Badger noticed that there was a small boy following him who didn't look like he could be older than three or four. Perhaps a bit young to be wandering on his own, but he kept close to Dalston, who seemed to know that he could trust the boy to do just that without coming to harm.

“Mistah Dalston! Great to see ya!” called Crow, “Cor, it's just like the good ol' days when ya would come for the auctions, ey?”

“A bit busier than it were back then, but close enough,” agreed Dalston, “Misthallery doesn't show any signs o' losin' steam. If it weren't that I liked old Joe too much t' put 'im outteh business then I'd open a 'otel 'ere meself. But all the same, I like t' come visit, especially when we need a break...” He trailed off uncharacteristically there, looking down at the boy next to him.

“So who's this then? Ya son?” Crow asked, smiling at the boy.

“With that hair? Nah, little Osceh 'ere is my friends' son,” said Dalston, ruffling the boy's hair, “But they needed a break, so I thought I'd take 'im with me to Misthallery. Good fer 'im t' see the world and all that. Might bring 'im along t' the auction t'night, if that's okay?”

“We doun't usualleh let kids-”

“We'll do bettah than that, we'll give 'im the full tour,” Crow announced, “Let 'im see wot the black market world is all about. An' then maybe one day 'e might become a Black Raven 'imself!”

“Crow... yer can't just take in every kid we find,” Badger hissed, “Especially not the ones that still 'ave parents...”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Dalston said, “Do yer fancy that, Osceh?”

To Badger, it looked as if Crow made Oscar nervous, but when asked by Dalston, he nodded along silently and smiled. Though honestly, as much as Badger liked Dalston, he couldn't understand how anyone could find a loud man like him to be less intimidating than Crow was.

“We could take 'im now, if ya like,” suggested Crow, “We were just about to get ready for dinnah, I think, but aftah that we can show 'im around the auction room an' let 'im meet the Black Raven-”

“-or the Bejewelled Raven,” Badger reminded.

“Or... or the fake one, yeah...” muttered Crow, “Then we can give 'im back to ya before the auction, so 'e can watch.”

“Sounds like a plan t' me,” Dalston said, “I know I can trust yer with 'im.”

“There's no one safer,” assured Crow.

He held out his hand to Oscar and, for a moment, Badger thought Crow was going to get snubbed. But then Oscar took a few nervous steps away from Dalston and took Crow's hand. He looked back towards Dalston as he did and when Dalston gave him an encouraging smile, he turned to Crow and smiled himself.

“Looks like I've made a friend,” Crow chuckled.

It took all of Badger's strength not to role his eyes. What was it with Crow and kids these days...?

When they got back to the market, Marilyn and Wren were still waiting by the fruit stall. They said that Sean had gotten back a little before them and had given the fish he'd caught to Tony, who was cooking them up over at Gus's house. The fact that Crow had gained a child since he'd left did not go unquestioned.

“Yer remembeh that Dalston guy from the auctions? Well Osceh's 'ere with 'im,” Badger explained, while Crow was busy pointing out to Oscar all the places that they hid Black Raven Medals, not that Oscar understood; “I think 'e's Randall Ascot's son. I remembeh 'im 'avin' a kid when I went t' Monte d'Or, but 'e were onleh a babeh then.”

“The actual Randall Ascot? As in the Masked Gentleman guy who was in the newspapers? That's pretty impressive,” Wren said.

“Yeah, but 'e isn't 'ere 'imself, just Dalston and the kid,” Badger replied.

“Must be good friends to trust him looking after his son like that,” Wren mused.

“Yeah, must be,” agreed Badger, “And now Crow's gan t' sign 'im up fer the Black Ravens if we're not careful. I shouldeh known 'e'd do that as soon as 'e lay eyes on 'im...”

“Does Crow like taking care of kids or something?” Wren asked.

For a moment, Badger and Marilyn both looked at her as if she'd asked if Charlie likes comic books. But then they both supposed that this was more of a recent development for Crow, so it made sense that Wren didn't know about it.

“He's been like this ever since Guntz was born,” explained Marilyn.

“If think 'e wants a child o' 'is own, but... that's not easy to make 'appen...” Badger mumbled.

Ever since Guntz had prompted that change in Crow, Badger had been trying not to think of himself as the person standing in the way of Crow having kids. He knew that Crow wanted to be with him and Crow had never shown any interest in... well, making a baby himself. But even so, there were times when Badger couldn't stop himself from wondering if Crow would have a child of his own if not for Badger...

“Have you thought about adopting?” Wren said.

“Yeah, we 'ave actually, but I reckon it'd be 'ard fer a couple like us t' jump through all the 'oops,” Badger sighed, “So I guess Crow'll just 'ave t' steal everyone else's kids fer as long as 'e can get away with it.”

“Oi, Badge'! I'm gonna climb up to the roofs with Oscah an' give 'im the full tour o' the Black Raven's runnin' routes,” Crow called over.

“...Or until 'e gets arrested,” Badger grumbled.

***

The roof tour turned out to not be a massive disaster after all. Badger had opted to go with them, since he was the expert in that area. Part of him expected to have to pay back his debt to Randall Ascot for saving his own life when he fell from that roof in Monte d'Or a few years ago by now saving his son from the same fate, but it turned out that his worries were for nought. Crow kept a careful hold on Oscar the whole time and Oscar stayed as still as he could, staring out at the world with wide eyes. He might even be the youngest person to see above these rooftops, unless the others had taken Guntz up here at some point.

When their trip across the roofs was finished, the three of them came down next to Gus's house and went in to find they were only a little late for dinner.

All the chairs that the Bell family had were pulled around the table, with very few of them matching. Oscar was given a stool that barely reached the table, but that didn't stop him from eating everything that was put on his plate. Once he was done, he stood on the stool so that he could reach up to Guntz's high-chair and talked to him in a soft, cooing voice, which was about as much as anyone had gotten out of him since they'd first seen him.

“Guessing we're getting' ready for the auction aftah this?” Crow checked.

“Charlie's already down there making a start,” informed Arianna, “But yes, we'll be joining him when we're done.”

“None o' this Bejewelled Raven rubbish!” protested Crow, “I want little Oscah to see the propah Black Raven.”

“You can be the one to tell that to Charlie then,” Arianna dismissed.

“I'll do just that. Come on, Oscah, we'll go sort that mean Charlie out, won't we?” huffed Crow.

Oscar looked confused, but over the afternoon he seemed to have decided that he liked Crow, so he jumped down off the chair and followed Crow out of the door. This time Badger chose not to join the two of them, since he assumed nothing much could happen to them between here and the manhole.

“Looks like they're not helping out with the washing up then,” Tony stated.

“I-I-I'll do it...” whispered Sean.

“Not when you caught the fish you won't, that isn't fair,” argued Tony. Part of Badger wondered if Tony spent a lot of time standing up for Sean and saving him from his own pushover nature, since Tony had been in that position himself before.

“It's my house, so my family will clean up,” Gus said, “If any of you want to stick around and help then it's welcome, but don't worry too much. After all, things get busier in the black market when Crow's around.”

“Onleh because 'e creates terror in 'is wake,” Badger snorted, “But sure, I'll stick around and 'elp 'ere when we're done.”

“Thanks, Badger,” replied Gus. Then he looked at Marilyn and said, “Are your parents having Guntz tonight or mine?”

“I'll take him over to mine,” Marilyn answered, “Yours have had him for a few days now and you know how jealous my lot can get. I'm just glad he gives Mum a reason to keep herself going...”

“I'm glad too...” said Gus.

He put an arm on Marilyn's shoulder and smiled at her comfortingly. Badger didn't see too much of the relationship between the two of them, but it was nice to see them have moments like this. And it sounded as if they were working out the baby situation just fine between their families.

After that it didn't take long for the others to finish up and head off, leaving Badger and Gus to do the cleaning. Gus's parents did turn up and offered to help, but Gus assured them that they had it covered. Badger quietly felt that having four of them bustling about in the tiny kitchen would have been too much anyway. Between Badger washing and Gus drying it didn't take too long to get the job done.

Once they were finished, they headed down the hallway so they could meet with the others and get ready for the auction. Badger hadn't been to Gus's house loads of times before, but he noticed that one thing that had changed from the last time he'd been there was that the walls in the hallway were now covered with framed pictures of those characters with the big eyes that Gus must have drawn. On closer inspection, he could just make out the squiggly signature of 'Angus Bell' in the corner of one, though Badger's reading skills still weren't the best.

When he saw what Badger was looking at, Gus laughed nervously.

“I used to keep my drawing a secret, but after the magazine thing my parents were so proud that they wanted to hang half my note book around the house...” he said, “They keep wanting to buy me all this fancy art equipment as well, but they have no money and it's hard enough with the baby, so I tell them no.”

“Nice that they're being supportive though,” said Badger, “What 'appened with that magazine anyway?”

“Not much, if I'm honest,” admitted Gus, “They printed a few pages of Tim and Si with a little caption about me and the comic, which was nice. But they don't post back the originals with any of these contests, so Charlie was gutted that it was lost forever.”

“Mebbe that were 'is punishment,” Badger laughed, as the two of them headed out the door.

“Him and the rest of the world. I actually got a letter from a girl in Newcastle who's about our age. She'd seen the pages and wanted to know what happened in the rest of it, said her friends were all curious as well,” Gus told him, “I let her know that I didn't get the comic back, but I wrote down the rest of what happened for her, not that there was a lot of plot anyway. We've been penpals ever since. I think they've started a fan club up there or something, because she keeps asking me to let her know if I make any more comics.”

“Are yer gan t' make any more?” asked Badger.

“Oh yes, but probably not Tim and Si. Don't tell Charlie, but I was getting bored of drawing the school backgrounds and I don't think the love triangle plot with Hummid was going anywhere anyway,” Gus replied, “For my next one maybe it'll be set in a space station, because drawing lots of space backgrounds sounds easy.”

“Fair enough,” Badger said. He didn't know enough about either drawing or space to give any more input than that.

It took them only a short time after that to make their way to the manhole and through to the auction hall. Though what they found there nearly scared Badger half to death. Crow was up on the rafters, once again carrying Oscar around in a high place as if it was no big deal.

“Crow, get down from there before yer fall!” he yelled up.

“It's fine, Badge', this kid's a natural. Ain't ya, little guy?” Crow cooed.

“I mean it, Crow,” Badger called.

“...Oh, all right, sure,” sighed Crow, he climbed down, still with Oscar in his arms, “Sorry Oscah, guess ya gonna 'ave to learn those ropes anothah day.”

“Like once 'e's old enough t' climb by 'imself,” Badger suggested.

“Aww, come on... 'e's 'appy enough to be carried,” reasoned Crow, looking down at Oscar.

To be fair, he wasn't wrong about that. Even though Oscar was a few years old and probably heavy, he let Crow carry him without complaints. Perhaps he was used to being carried around by Dalston. And Badger noticed that when Oscar reached up to poke at the eye Crow kept hidden behind his hair, that Crow didn't complain, which was a rarity.

“Yer must like 'im,” Badger said, with a nod.

“It makes my eye watah when 'e prods it, but I can barely see outta that one anyway, so wot does it mattah?” replied Crow, “I'm not gonna tell 'im off ovah somethin' like that.”

“That's because... because yer good with kids, Crow...” Badger mumbled.

“If he ever had his own then he'd have to learn to tell it off,” Marilyn shouted over, “They'll grow up to be brats if you spoil them.”

“My kid would nevah do anythin' wrong anyway an' neithah does Oscar,” Crow argued, though it was clear he was joking.

Badger wished that it didn't hurt when Crow talked about having his own child like that, as if it was inevitable when it probably... wasn't. Once again, his brain told him that the reason he couldn't was Badger and that didn't feel good. But it wasn't fair to think like that right now. He needed to swallow his worries and focus on looking like he was fine...

Besides, it wasn't too much longer after that before Dalston showed up, having been invited earlier than the other auction guests so he could collect Oscar. It felt a little wrong for a customer to be there while they were all running around out of costume, but at this point they were all aware that Dalston knew about them and supported them, so it wasn't so bad. Just as long as it didn't become a regular thing.

To Badger's surprise, Crow didn't plan on replacing Charlie as the Black Raven tonight like he'd said he was going to. When Badger pressed him about it, Crow claimed that he didn't feel up to an argument, which... was not at all like him.

But once everyone else was running around during the auction itself, Crow caught Badger and took him to a side, admitting the real reason why he didn't go out there.

“I wanna talk to ya away from everyone else,” he admitted, “Ya've bin distant since this aftahnoon. Is everythin' okay?”

“Y-yeah, it's all... Well, okay, nah, I'm not ah'reet...” Badger sighed.

“Is it 'cause o' Oscah?” Crow checked, “I won't try an' borrow 'im from Dalston any more if it is.”

Badger shook his head; “Doun't stop yerself from seeing 'im because of that. It's... well, it's my fault. I think it's great that yer like looking afteh kids so much and yer good with them. But it makes me sad that yer can neveh 'ave a kid of yer own a-and that's... my fault...”

He couldn't stop himself from crying after he choked out those last two words, as much as he'd wanted not to. Before he knew it, Badger was being held close by Crow, who even went as far as to reach up to stroke his hair, despite how difficult that was for him.

“Don't say that, Badge'... It ain't ya fault at all,” Crow soothed, “We chose to be togethah, okay? It's what I wanted. An' I don't even need a kid o' my own. I'm 'appy to look aftah everyone else's for 'em.”

“Yer just saying that...” Badger sniffed.

“I'm not!” promised Crow.

“Th-then look me in the eye and say that yer wouldn't 'ave a kid even if yer weren't with me?” demanded Badger, even though he knew that was unfair.

Crow hesitated, which was almost enough for Badger to be able to pass off the question as being answered. But when he did talk it was with such resolve that Badger knew that he was truthful.

“If the opportunity came along to take in a kid then yeah, I would,” he said, “But I'm not interested in 'avin' a child that's my own flesh an' blood. That's not wot's important to me.”

“...Then maybe you should let other people help you both.”

Crow and Badger turned to find Wren standing there, watching them. She must have been listening to the whole conversation.


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wren agrees to act as a surrogate for Crow and Badger, meaning that they're heading up to Northumberland again to sort everything out. Only Charlie decides to come with them for the ride, leading Badger to finally get given the details on the bad blood between Charlie and Crow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Charlie tells Badger in this chapter is actually a retooling of an older one-shot I wrote, pre-dating Grasping Liquid, that dealt with the backstory between Charlie and Crow. I've made references to it in this story before now and I'm glad to finally have a chance to properly work it into the Grasping Liquid canon. Also, Wren's hairstyle is a reference to the older design for her that Randomgirl401 posted on deviantART: http://randomgirl401.deviantart.com/art/Wrenn-659912887

There were three of them sat in a circle in Crow's room, as if they were kids again and having some kind of secret society meeting. Did the Black Ravens count as the sort of secret society that kids have? If it did, then Badger at least allowed himself the pride of thinking that all of them had somehow made a business out of it. But regardless, secret meetings weren't why Crow, Badger and Wren were here talking today.

While she was in Misthallery, Wren had been staying with Marilyn, but it felt too strange to talk about this at Marilyn's house. Especially since baby Guntz was there tonight and they didn't want to disturb his rest by talking long into the night. So instead they'd come to Crow's house... though now it was just Maureen's house, Badger supposed. And Maureen had been less than impressed by Crow bringing over a new guest without first tidying his room.

Badger could see her point, given that the room they were sat in was a true testament to the Crow of old, nothing having been moved from where he'd left it before he'd moved out. To be fair though, Crow was still that much of a hoarder to this day, but at least in their antiques shop there was more rhyme and reason to where the clutter went. Here it was just a chaotic mess of everything.

Even though Wren assured Crow that it was fine, Badger could almost hear her internal screaming. When he thought about it, Wren's half of the room she shared with Socket was the most clean and organised place that Badger had ever seen. He suspected that she was maybe OCD about it and that Crow's mess was frustrating for her to look at.

At least Crow had the decency to clear up a bit of space so they could all sit on the floor. That was about the best he could do for this lost cause of a room right now.

They'd been talking for a while, but Badger was still trying to wrap his head around what Wren was suggesting.

“So that's, like, a real thing that people do?” he asked.

“Of course it is. People use surrogacy all the time,” Wren replied, “Well... maybe not all the time, but it's definitely a thing. A couple I know in Chillingham opted to do it, because one of them was infertile, and they've been happily raising their child since she was born.”

“Yeah, but... look, I doun't want t' be rude or owt, but if it's a thing that straight couples do then... are we even allowed t' do it?” checked Badger.

“I don't think anyone could actually stop you,” answered Wren, “I'd need to look into it more, but as long as the three of us are happy to go through with it then why would it be anyone else's business?”

“An' do ya wanna go through with it?” Crow asked Wren. He'd been thoughtfully quiet the whole time that they'd been talking.

“Yes. I'd never have suggested it if I didn't want to. I think it'd be good for all of us. I mean... you and Badger want a child and I want a child too, so...” Wren left that hanging.

“Ya do?” Crow checked, sounding more surprised than he'd probably meant to. It was no wonder that Wren directed a glare at him for that comment.

“I do, Crow. I'm allowed to be a woman sometimes and so long as I'm not interested in getting together with anyone, surrogacy is my best option as well,” Wren snapped.

“Just 'cause ya a woman doesn't mean ya 'afta want a baby,” Crow countered, “Not all women want 'em.”

Wren sighed; “Don't you of all people get feminist with me, Crow. I know that, okay? But the fact is that I want one. That shouldn't be too hard to understand. And if we all go into this together then it'd probably work out easier than with strangers, don't you think?”

“It would... but we really can't do it,” concluded Crow, “I'm sorry.”

“What? Why not?” Wren demanded.

“Well, 'cause we 'afta all wanna go through with it an' not all o' us do,” replied Crow.

He didn't point any fingers at anyone, but Badger knew who he was talking about. And he actually kind of thankful for it. Once upon a time, Crow would have charged ahead just because it was what he wanted to do and wouldn't even stop to consider anyone else. The fact that he'd now call off his plans completely for Badger's sake was touching, but Badger knew he had to get his own point across and dispel Crow's assumptions.

“I appreciate it, Crow, but yer doun't speak fer me,” he said, “This all means so much t' yer, so I want t' go through with it.”

“Badge'... look, ya say that an' I'm glad that ya would. But I can tell this ain't wot ya want. An' since this is such a life-changin' thing, there's no way I could push it on ya like that,” Crow insisted.

“Okay, so I'm not as good with kids as you are. They make me kindeh nervous, since they're so little and easy t' get 'urt. But mebbe I still want t' try. Because I know that Crowlo is great with kids and even if it took me a bit longeh, I'd get there as long as Crow can 'elp me,” replied Badger.

“Badgah...” Crow whispered, clearly affected by his words.

“Great, so it's decided then?” Wren hummed, with a clap of her hands that brought them all back into reality.

“Is it realleh that easy?” said Badger.

“Unfortunately not... Like I said, there's still a lot that I'd need to look into, but I can definitely talk to that couple back home about it. From what I do know, it's not a certainty either. We could try going through with a sperm donation time and time again without it actually resulting in anything,” Wren answered, “Though I guess that's just the luck of the draw no matter how you'd doing it. Some people can be actually trying for a long time without any luck and then other people can have a baby show up by accident when they didn't even mean for one.”

“Like wot 'appened with Gus an' Marilyn?” Crow asked.

“Crow!”

Wren and Badger both stared at him in horror.

“Wot?”

“Yer doun't just... say summit like that about people!”

“It's true though, ain't it?”

“That's not the point!”

At that point the conversation had derailed to bickering, but the beginnings of a plan had been formed. Crow and Badger were going to try for a baby and Wren was going to help them. It felt almost unreal that the agreement had happened so fast, but then Badger supposed that the process would be slow, so it made more sense to get the ball rolling now.

***

After that trip to Misthallery, it did take a while for anything to come about, even though Crow and Badger had been in constant contact with Wren ever since she'd returned home. But they'd all done their research and eventually Wren had managed to get an appointment somewhere close to where she lived, so Crow and Badger were headed up to Northumberland so they could join her when she went.

It was Umid who looked after the shop for them this time, though without his usual Roddy companion, as Roddy needed to stay in London, because he was in the middle of working on a construction project. Instead Umid had turned up with the old man who had taken in Keats, of all people. Apparently the two had met up sometime after Crow and Badger moved away from London and over time the old man, who was called Raymond, had become like something of a grandfather to Umid. Badger still felt a bit uncomfortable, since he knew of Raymond's ties to Descole, but it did seem that Raymond was retired in every sense and there was no need for Badger to drag out unnecessary drama. Everything with Descole was in the past and done now.

So Crow and Badger set out for Chillingham. However, it wasn't only the two of them going there.

“Remind me again why we're bringin' Curly with us?” Crow asked, while Charlie sat right next to him at the table they'd booked on the train.

“The answer hasn't changed since last time,” Charlie retorted, “I'm interested in Northumberland for aesthetic purposes. The Bejewelled Raven is getting a little stale, so I thought getting some summer inspiration out in the northern countryside would be nice.”

“The Bejewelled Raven shouldn't even be a thing at all,” muttered Crow, shooting him a dark glance.

Badger, who'd grown tired of their bickering less than ten minutes into the journey, replied, “Probableh just because 'e misses Socket, eh?”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Charlie gasped, “I'd thank you not to make accusations.”

“Leave it off, Curly, we all know ya like 'im,” goaded Crow.

“I'm not even going to dignify that with a response,” Charlie huffed.

With that, he pulled a sketchbook out of his bag to busy himself with looking through, so he didn't have to talk to them for a while. The sketchbook obviously belonged to Gus. Badger could only hope that Charlie had asked permission before taking it. But most noticeably, it was actually a sketchbook now and much bigger than the little notebook that Gus had drawn Tim and Si in. The panels seemed less wonky in this new comic too and some of the pages were inked, while before Gus had only used pencil. Even without Badger knowing much about art, he could see the improvement.

“So that's the new comic then?” Badger asked, because he felt bad about teasing Charlie before.

“Still that Tim and Si stuff?” added Crow.

“Um, no. Tim and Si are yesterday's news,” Charlie scoffed, “This is the latest story Gus is working on, entitled Please Stop the Earth, and I'd go as far as to say it's a masterpiece.”

“Entitled, eh? Must be fancy then if it's entitled,” chuckled Crow, “So wot's the plot?”

“I... um, haven't gotten that far yet,” Charlie admitted, “But there's these people on a space station and they're all in love with this same woman who's like an alien goddess or something?”

“Sounds like one of Mum's romance novels,” said Crow.

“Yer'd probableh like it then,” Badger said. Because he knew that rack of Mills and Boon books Crow kept next to the counter in the shop was not for the customers, no matter what Crow claimed.

“I'm gonna go to the food carriage, anyone want anythin'?” Crow muttered, to avoid answering that.

“Nah, I'm good,” replied Badger.

“Just get me something that goes with my outfit,” Charlie said, without looking up from the sketchbook.

“There's already a trash can in the middle o' this carriage though,” Crow replied. He disappeared before Charlie could hit him with the sketchbook.

“Ugh! So rude! How do you put up with that guy, Badger?” tutted Charlie.

“Hard work and love, I guess?” Badger answered, “Crow 'as good qualities as well, when yer get t' know 'im.”

Charlie stared across the table, his expression suddenly dark and lacking the humour it had just before. Badger knew that he'd said the wrong thing, but it didn't dawn on him exactly what the wrong thing was all about until Charlie replied.

“I do know him. I've known him longer than you, remember?” he said.

“Oh... yeah... I kindeh forgot about that. Sorreh...” mumbled Badger, wishing that he could shrink in his seat to get away, “I mean... yer both part of the Black Ravens now and I neveh 'eard the full story with that anyway, so... I doun't know, it's not summit I think about.”

“I wish I could say the same, I think about it all the time. Well, that's a bit far. I think about it some of the time, anyway,” Charlie replied. He put the sketchbook back into his bag and then went back to staring at Badger, as if judging him. Then he seemed to decide that he could keep going with this; “You know, maybe you should know by now. It was a long time ago and it probably won't change how you feel about Crow these days. We were all different back then.”

“I'm all ears,” prompted Badger. He'd secretly been wanting to hear this story for ages.

“Okay, so maybe you already know that Crow used to live in North Ely before he moved to the market? And if you didn't know it, then I'm telling you now,” Charlie started, “It wasn't far from my house. We were all much younger then, like, proper kids. I didn't really talk to Thomas much – and he was Thomas back then – because he seemed kind of scary. He lived with his mum and dad, but then one day his dad... left.”

“I wondehed about that,” Badger said, “Crow's neveh talks about 'is dad and I thought it'd be rude t' ask.”

“If I had to guess, I'd say that he finds it easier just to pretend he never existed and I can't blame him for that,” Charlie suggested, “But anyway, on the day his dad left it was, like, a big deal. His mum followed him out the house, trying to get him back inside, they were both screaming at each other. I watched it all from my bedroom window. The Chippes even had to come to break it up and after that they carted his mum off to rehab or something.”

“Poor Maureen...” muttered Badger. He saw her happy, smiling face appear in his mind and it hurt him to think of her ever being so sad. Maybe he didn't want to hear this story after all.

“Yeah, it was a mess. And Thomas disappeared after that. No one could find him. ...But I found him,” Charlie said, his face grim once more.

“Yer musteh been looking 'ard then,” Badger guessed.

“Not exactly. He broke into our garage to steal some potatoes or bread or something and didn't realise I was still in the house,” answered Charlie, “That was when he tricked me. Of course he didn't want to get caught, so he told me that he'd be my friend if I kept his secret. And, I mean, Thomas was always scary, but he was also so cool! Getting to be his friend felt like the best thing ever back then, so I agreed with him right away.”

“Y-yeah, I undehstand that feeling...” Badger chuckled. Back in the beginning, he'd been totally taken in by how cool Crow seemed as well, even if Crow might not have been the nicest person at the start. The Crow they had with them now was much preferable, if you asked Badger.

“He knows people think that. And he knew that he had me. So that's how I got involved with the whole thing, with me stealing food from my house for Thomas and then getting to hang out with him. It felt like the best to some nobody kid like Charlie Webster, who just sat in his room reading comics all day. I got to be around this guy who was living on his own in the wild, that had to mean something...” Charlie sighed here. Then he carried on, “...It meant something to me, anyway. Not so much to Thomas. His mum did come back one day, as you might have guessed, but she couldn't afford the nice house in North Ely without Crow's dad's wage, so Evan Barde shifted her to one of the market houses, because those things are pretty much unsellable. I'm sorry, but they are. And, I mean, at least Barde gave her something. He probably took her on knowing that he'd make a loss.”

“And Crow?” Badger pressed, because he didn't like dwelling on the bad parts about Maureen.

“And Thomas had a home again,” Charlie answered, “The market was instantly where he was supposed to be. Anyone would think that he'd always been there and I bet that most do. It was something more useful to him than North Ely. Something he could mould into his own image, with plenty of other kids around for him to get involved with his plans.”

“The Black Ravens...” said Badger, “So afteh that did yer just not botheh with 'im any more?”

“I would have stayed if he'd wanted me. But he didn't. By the time I found him in the market, he already had his new best friend Roddy and he told me that there was no Thomas now, only Crow,” Charlie replied.

“That... does sound like summit Crow would say,” Badger agreed.

“Then he sent me packing and we've hated each other ever since. Pretty miserable story, huh? I'd much rather read the nice stories in Gus's comics myself...” finished Charlie.

“I'm glad I know now. And, yeah, what Crow did t' yer were 'orrible, but... yer friends now, reet?” Badger encouraged.

“I don't know. I haven't asked him,” Charlie confessed.

“O' course we're friends! I wouldn't o' got ya this nice strawberry sundae that goes with ya tacky red an' white top if we weren't friends,” Crow said.

Charlie and Badger both almost jumped out of their skins. They had no idea how long Crow had been listening to them talk for, but he was here now. He took to his seat again and awkwardly slid the sundae across to Charlie.

“Look, Curly...”

“Don't apologise,” said Charlie, “It's not your style.”

“Some things are worth ruinin' ya style for though,” Crow insisted, “The way I treated ya were propah awful an' I'm lucky ya good enough to not let it come between ya bein' friends with the Black Ravens.”

“Of course not. I'm hardly going to blame them for being taken in by a tricky pretty boy. Not when I was once as well,” Charlie dismissed, “And I mean, I'm prettier than you these days anyway, so it doesn't matter.”

Crow shook his head; “I'll let ya 'ave that one.”

With Crow and Charlie it was hard to know exactly what was going on, but it sounded a lot to Badger like they were finally agreeing that the past was water under the bridge. And he felt so glad. Because Badger loved Crow and he valued Charlie as a friend. They were both such strong personalities and stubborn to boot, so how could Badger not like them? Having them get along with each other after so long felt like a relief. Though Badger doubted he'd heard the last of their bickering. That was just the way that the two of them were.

***

It was Wren who greeted them at the station, not her mother. She was in a different car, one she'd borrowed from the garage, she told them. And she looked so... cool. There was no other word for it. She'd always had a preference for Jackets and now she'd cut her hair into a stylish bob. The car she was lent against felt perfectly suited to her.

“Hop in,” she said, “I'll drive you all to Chillingham, since the appointment isn't until tomorrow anyway. Socket's looking forward to seeing you, Charlie.”

“Oh, is he?” Charlie replied, as he pretended not to be interested, “I guess I probably am the most interesting thing that's happened in his mundane life for a while.”

“You can tell him that one,” laughed Wren.

With that, the four of them were off. The route from the village with the station (which Wren told them was called Hipsburn, even though the station itself was called Alnmouth Station, villages could be confusing...) to Chillingham was a long one, but at least the view on the way there was nice. Badger thought that Charlie could get lots of countryside inspiration from the fields and woods they past, but then he also thought that Charlie had made that excuse up entirely.

Eventually they got there though and Socket was waiting for them in the driveway, pacing about so much that some of the gravel had been knocked away where he'd been walking. He must have been there for a while.

“You better put that back to right, Mum hates it when you kick the gravel about,” Wren warned, as they got out the car.

“Latah!” dismissed Socket, with a wave of his hand, “Right now I've gotta say hi to my good mates, Crow and Badgah! And I guess to this othah guy, too...”

“I didn't see you down there, little man,” Charlie replied, “Now could you please direct me to where the good-looking people are in this village? Because I require company that's more up to my standards.”

“Jokes on you, Curly! There's only about ten 'ouse in this 'ole village, so there ain't any good-looking people!” shot Socket. Though as soon as he realised what he'd said he started to back pedal, “I-I mean... 'cept for me, o' course! I'm well 'andsome, me!”

“Hm. I guess,” said Charlie.

“How about we leave you two to catch up? After all, Crow, Badger and me have a lot to talk about,” Wren suggested. And Badger was glad for it. Charlie and Socket were both exhausting when they were in the same place and Badger had no idea how they kept up with it.

“Yeah, I guess...” Socket agreed, “Just make sure youse guys don't give Wrenny a bad baby, ya 'ear?”

“There's no such thing as a bad baby,” Crow assured.

“And there won't be any baby if we don't get sorted before tomorrow,” Wren added.

With that, the three of them left Charlie and Socket to it. No doubt the two of them were eager to catch up in their own weird way. Whereas Badger would definitely rather get on with what they'd come here to discuss.

They went through to the kitchen, where they all sat around a large, wooden table. Crow helped himself to an apple from the fruit bowl without being offered, but Wren didn't seem to mind.

“So wot's there to talk about that we don't already know?” he asked, taking a bite out of the apple.

“I think we've got almost everything covered,” Wren told them, “But the one part we overlooked is kind of a big deal and it's causing some hold up while I'm filling out the forms. The clinic suggested that I talked to you both about it before the appointment, so that we can hopefully have an answer ready by then.”

“What is it then?” checked Badger.

“Well, I can't believe we haven't talked about this sooner, but they need to know which one of you is going to be the donor,” Wren replied.

“That's all?” Badger said, “I mean it's obvious the donor is gan t' be-”

“Badgah,” finished Crow.

“Yer what...!” Badger gaped. He turned to stare at Crow, “B-but yer the one who wants a kid so badleh!”

“Yeah, and it'll be my kid eithah way,” said Crow, “But I wasn't lyin' when I said that I'm not bothahed about 'avin' a kid who's my own flesh an' blood. I thought about it an' ya got much bettah genes than me, Badge', with ya bein' athletic an' good at maths an' tall an' 'andsome. The kid'll 'ave a bettah chance with your genes than mine.”

Normally Badger would be completely flustered by such compliments from Crow. And okay, even now he kind of was. But the circumstances made it so bizarre! Also, he didn't agree with Crow's assessment.

“But... but Crow's way betteh than Badgeh!” he insisted, “Yer got yer cunning and yer... yer beauty and yer way with words! I doun't 'ave any of that!”

“The kid can get all those things from Wren,” Crow claimed, “Only without my genes goin' anywhere near it there's no risk o' it bein' a devious buggah like I am. Ya 'eard Curly on the train – don't want our kid turnin' out to be a bad friend like I was.”

“I don't mean to interrupt, but most traits can pop up in any kind of person regardless,” Wren said, “I mean, it's not as if Gus's family have a history of being artists, for example.”

Badger and Crow turned to glare at each other where they were sitting. And Badger didn't back down. Because he wasn't the shy, timid Badger who would waiver to everything Crow said any more and Crow knew that. Crow knew that he'd stand his ground these days and... Crow liked that about Badger... He liked so many things about Badger. Which was why... he thought that Badger would be best for this. Damn him...

Looked like Crow was going to win this argument and all.

“Ah'reet... I still think yer betteh than me, but if this is what yer want,” Badger concluded.

“Are ya sure?” Crow gasped.

“I'm sure I'm sure. Now take it before I change me mind,” Badger said.

“Ya the best, Badge'!” cheered Crow, “An' o' course Wren is the best as well. Both o' ya 'ave to be the best, doin' this.”

“Yeah, you're pretty lucky to have us,” agreed Wren, “So I guess that means that Badger can sign the papers, since he'll be the donor.”

She got up from where she was sat and went to get a few forms from one of the kitchen cupboards. Usually Badger didn't deal a lot with forms, that was Crow's area. When he thought about it, the last time he'd gotten involved with forms was when he'd opened his bank account, even though Becky had done the writing on his behalf back then. But in the end it had been for the best, since it meant they could get their house. And now when he signed these forms it might mean that the three of them had a chance of getting a child...

He took the pen that Wren offered to him and marked the line with 'Simon Walker'.


End file.
